Koine Foundations

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23)

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Word Focus
peace
εἰρήνη / eirēnē
<Hear It>

In this post I continue with comments about the Fruit of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5:22-23. The fruit is nine character virtues which result when a Christian’s life is controlled and guided by the Holy Spirit. They are spiritual expressions of a life transformed by Jesus Christ. The word focus for this post is peace – εἰρήνη / eirēnē.

In Classical Greek, εἰρήνη / eirēnē principally meant “the state of peace” in contrast to the state of war. It was a state, not an attitude or feeling. It did gradually come to mean a peaceful attitude or inner peace. Later on in Koine Greek its meaning was shaped and broadened by its use in the Septuagint* as the Greek translation for the Hebrew word shalom, which had a much broader meaning than εἰρήνη. This affected its meaning in the New Testament, where it has the idea of a state of harmony because of the cessation of hostility, a state of reconciliation with God, harmony that exists in personal relationships, or a state of well-being or rest.

Central and most important in the New Testament is the peace that is the state of reconciliation with God. Because of sin, hostility exists between God and mankind. God took the initiative to bring about peace by sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for sin. His death brought reconciliation and peace with God (Romans 5:1). The message about this is called the Good News or Gospel. It is sometimes also called the Good News of Peace or the Gospel of Peace (see Acts 10:36; Ephesians 2:17; Ephesians 6:15).

For those who accept the Good News, the result is peace with God and also peace of mind (Romans 15:13). Reconciliation results in a father-child relationship of love between God (Father) and the believer (child), who can bring all his or her cares and anxieties before a loving Father who hears and helps and heals (Philippians 4:6-7).

Peace with God should also express itself in relationships with other people. In a number of places the New Testament commands the believer to pursue peace with others, For example:

So then, let us pursue what leads to peace
and builds up one another. (Romans 14:19)

Pursue peace with everyone. (Hebrews 12:14)

Here are links to all the posts for the Fruit of the Spirit:

Fruit of the Spirit
Love – ἀγάπη / agapē
Joy – χαρά / chara
Peace – εἰρήνη / eirēnē
Patience – μακροθυμία / makrothumia
Kindness – χρηστότης / chrēstotēs
Goodness – ἀγαθωσύνη / agathōsunē
Faithfulness – πίστις / pistis
Gentleness – πραΰτης / praütēs
Self-Control – ἐγκράτεια / egkrateia

*The Septuagint was the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible (what Christians call the Old Testament). It also contained some Apocryphal books. The translation was begun some time in the middle of the third century BC.

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Word Focus Lexicon

Lexical Form: ἡ εἰρήνη εἰρήνης <Hear It>
Gloss: peace (state of harmony or well-being)
Part of Speech: First Declension Feminine Noun
New Testament Frequency: 92
Strong’s Number: G1515 (Link to Blue Letter Bible Lexicon)

Pronunciation Note: In Koine Greek, the vowel combination ει (Epsilon-Iota) was pronounced like the single letter ι (Ιοτα) – like the i in the English word ski. This was a change from the Classical Greek pronunciation where it was pronounced somewhat like the ei in the English word weigh. For those interested in grammar, the Classical sound was a diphthong (the combination of two vowels, in which the sound begins as one vowel sound and glides toward another vowel sound) and the Koine sound was a digraph (a combination of two letters that represent one sound).

Unless otherwise noted, English translations of Bible verses are by the author from the Greek text and are not quotations from any copyrighted Bible version or translation.