Little words with big impact

(Philippians 2:18)

There are a lot of words in the Bible that we tend to skip over as we read, sometimes ignoring them or treating them as just connectors or fillers.

These are what I call the “little words” because they seem to be insignificant in the total scheme of what is being written.

But I have learned over many, many years that we ignore these words at our own peril because they often provide a wealth of insight and information. So in this post today I want to look at a couple of instances of little words to show what I mean.

Likewise

In this verse today we see it begins with the word “likewise.”

Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me. (Philippians 2:18)

The word “likewise” is one that we would often ignore as we continue on with our reading. But it is a powerful indicator in the word and a connector between two related segments.

Whenever we see the word likewise we should know and understand that what follows is connected to what has just preceded the word. And if we go back and look at the preceding words we will find that they help to explain what follows.

For example, look at this section in Philippians 2, at what precedes and follows the word “Likewise.”

12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for God is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. 14 Do all things without grumbling or questioning, 15 that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, 16 holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labour in vain. 17 Even if I am to be poured as a libation upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. 18 Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me. (Philippians 2:12-18)

What we see in these words is that Paul is giving the church instructions and saying how proud he was of the way they were growing in Christ and following in His ways. Paul is overjoyed to find the Philippians church following Christ with such dedication.

And then we hit the word “Likewise” which is a pivot point in this discussion where Paul says in the words that follow that the people also should be joyful with him and glad because they are with Christ and will receive His blessings in due course.

Another example of the power of the word “likewise” in scripture that comes to mind is in the beginning of Romans chapter 7 where Paul uses this word to describe how we are set free from the law.

1 Do you not know, brethren–for I am speaking to those who know the law–that the law is binding on a person only during his life? 2 Thus a married woman is bound by law to her husband as long as he lives; but if her husband dies she is discharged from the law concerning the husband. 3 Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies she is free from that law, and if she marries another man she is not an adulteress. 4 Likewise, my brethren, you have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead in order that we may bear fruit for God. (Romans 7:1-4)

Again we see this word is a pivot point where Paul goes from the description of one process, that of marriage and the death of one partner, to how this is the same as another process, how we are set free from the law.

In verses 1 to 3 Paul explains how a woman in a marriage is set free from the laws of marriage when or if her husband dies. When the husband dies then the marriage is annulled and the woman can legally and in the sight of God freely remarry anyone she so chooses because the law that binds her in marriage to her husband is broken at the death of her partner and she is set free from that law.

And then we see the word “Likewise” at the start of verse 4. This little word points us forward and backward and tells us that what preceded this word is the same or similar to what follows. It means “In the same way” and that is how the word likewise should be viewed.

So what we see in verse 4 is a description of how freedom from law is brought about. Just as the woman is set free from the law of marriage by the death of her husband, so to when we take on the death of Christ as our own in baptism, we are set free from the laws of Moses and are free to belong to another, that is, the risen Christ who is seated at the right hand of the Father.

”Likewise” is a powerful little word that can help us understand what the Bible is talking about, and it should not be skimmed over quickly. And there are others too. One that comes to mind is the word “not.”

Not

There is a particular verse in Hebrews 8 where we see a whole raft of meaning from the word “not.” Look at these verses.

8 For he finds fault with them when he says: “The days will come, says the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah; 9 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; for they did not continue in my covenant, and so I paid no heed to them, says the Lord. 10 This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 11 And they shall not teach every one his fellow or every one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all shall know me, from the least of them to the greatest. 12 For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.” 13 In speaking of a new covenant he treats the first as obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away. (Romans 8:8-13)

The Lord in this prophecy was telling the people of Israel that He would establish a New Covenant with the people of Israel, and if you look back prior to these quoted verses you see why He was going to do that.

But then we get to the first word of verse 9 which is “NOT.” He says that the New Covenant is NOT going to be like the Old Covenant. It will be quite different, and this raises a number of questions, especially as we continue on in this section.

If the New Covenant is NOT like the Old Covenant, then what is it like? The Old Covenant was the law and under it the people were required to keep the law with all its precepts, practises and sacrifices.

But when we hit this little word “not” we hit a pivot point where we see that what went before is going to change, and change quite drastically because it doesn’t say the New Covenant will be just a little altered, or along similar but not the same lines. It says it will NOT be like the Old Covenant. It will NOT be like the law.

The law defined sin and it condemned those who broke, disregarded or rejected the law. It was the law that gave sin its power as we see in 1 Corinthians 15:56.

As we read on in the quoted verse above, we see God begin to explain what the New Covenant WILL be like. He says that HE will write the laws on the hearts and minds of His people, not to be trotted out by rote, but to transform the lives of His people and that He would be our teacher rather than the priests of the law, which He did through Christ who was and is our Teacher. And then we see in verse 12 the BIG change between the Old and New Covenants where He says, “For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.”

Under the New Covenant God will forgive and forget our sins, which is a significant change from the Old Covenant where our sins were remembered and we were condemned as sinners. Furthermore, God promises in the New Covenant not to remember our iniquities as we walk with Christ and He will assist us to overcome and have the victory over the passions, lusts and desires of the flesh that are our iniquities, so that we can be perfect and transformed into His image.

And that is why in the last verse He says that the Old Covenant is obsolete and ready to vanish away because the New Covenant is so much better and surpasses the Old Covenant in every way.

The two covenants are not compatible. You cannot effectively live and serve God and Jesus Christ under both covenants at the same time. This is what the word “Not” is telling us and why it is such an important “little word” in this section of scripture. And as evidence that we cannot serve Christ under both covenants at the same time, consider these words to the Galatians church.

You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. (Galatians 5:4)

The Old Covenant is based on the law. The New Covenant is based on grace. As we see in these words above, if you are trying to worship under the law, then you have fallen away from grace and seeking justification under the law will cut you off and sever you from Jesus Christ!

And we get all of this insight because in Hebrews 8 we see the word “not” which tells us to go and look for what this means. It tells us to consider the question, if the New Covenant is NOT like the Old Covenant, then what is it like? And then we start to get answers.

Little Words are powerful

So these are just two examples of the “little words” that convey big meanings and have a big impact.

When we read the Bible we need to look out for the little words, especially those that indicate a pivot point like the word “likewise” because they will point us in the right direction to understand things better. They give a description that helps us understand a spiritual message, just as Jesus used physical stories and parables to teach us spiritual insights about life in the Spirit.

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