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κατά (Kata): According to What Standard? · Reformed Thinking

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  Welcome back to Reformed Thinking.
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  Today we are doing something that might look a little
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  intimidating on the surface, but I promise you, by the time we
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  are done, you are going to see the New Testament with a
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  completely fresh pair of eyes. It is good to be here, and you
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  are right on the desk Between us we have a stack of books that
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  could probably break a toe if we dropped one.
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  We are looking at the heavy hitters of Greek lexicography
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  today. BDAG, Liddell, Scott.
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  Jones, Lunita. It looks like a library exploded
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  in here, but we aren't just reading definitions for the sake
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  of, you know, vocabulary trivia. We are zeroing in on one
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  specific tiny word, a preposition.
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  That is right, the word is kata. KATA.
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  In the Greek script it is Kappa alpha, Tau alpha.
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  Usually people just skip over prepositions.
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  When I read the Bible, I tend to look for the big nouns like
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  grace or faith or the the big action verbs.
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  But the premise for this discussion is that this little
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  preposition kata is actually defining the structural
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  relationship between God, man, and salvation.
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  It absolutely is. I mean, in Reformed theology we
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  often discuss the structure of our faith, covenant election,
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  the two natures of Christ. What we are going to find in
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  these sources is that the word Qatar is the hinge upon which
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  those massive doors swing. It carries the weight of
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  predestination, the incarnation, and the nature of the Gospel
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  itself. So the mission for this deep
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  dive is to see how Qatar defines the standard or the norm of the
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  Christian faith. And we have to stick strictly to
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  what these lexicons tell us. Precision is key here.
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  We want to extract the theological substance right out
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  of the grammar. OK, let's untack this.
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  We need to start with the basics.
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  When I open Liddell, Scott Jones or BDAG, which for the listener
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  is the standard Greek English lexicon of the New Testament,
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  the first major category for Qatar involves the genitive
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  case, and the primary definition is spatial.
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  It means motion downwards. Correct.
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  The radical sense of the word is down.
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  It indicates A trajectory from a higher place to a lower place.
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  The sources give us some very vivid examples of this.
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  One that stood out to me immediately was from Matthew
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  8.32. This is the account of the
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  demons engaging with the herd of pigs.
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  Right, the text says. The whole herd rushed down this
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  deep slope. The Greek phrase there is kata
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  to kronu. They're moving from the top of
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  the Cliff to the sea below. It is a violent downward
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  trajectory. It really is.
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  And there is another one in Acts 27.14 dealing with the shipwreck
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  narrative. It describes this massive win,
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  this typhonic win, called You're a Kilo.
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  The source notes say it rushed down from Crete.
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  That spatial idea coming down from is crucial.
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  It connects to the concept of origin and really authority.
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  The wind did not just appear, it descended from the island.
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  It implies a source that is higher or more powerful than the
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  destination. In the ancient mind, and
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  certainly in the lexical data we have here, things that come down
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  often carry the weight of the source they come from.
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  That makes sense physically. Gravity dictates that things
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  falling from above have an impact.
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  But here is where it gets interesting.
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  In the data, this idea of down shifts into a metaphorical
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  category that I was not expecting.
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  The lexicons list a massive category for Qatar with the
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  genitive that means against. Yes, this is the hostile sense.
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  If you think about it physically, it follows the logic
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  if someone is standing over you, pressing down on you, they are
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  essentially against you. The position of authority or
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  height becomes a position of opposition.
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  I am looking at the list of verbs associated with this
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  hostile Qatar in the sources. It is intense.
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  We have verbs of accusing, rebelling, fighting, speaking
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  against. Look at Matthew 26.59.
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  The source lists this under witnessing against the religious
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  leaders are seeking false testimony Qatar against Jesus.
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  They're bringing a charge down upon him and has that downward
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  oppressive feel. Or take First Corinthians 1515
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  where talks about testifying Qatar God or misrepresenting
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  him. It's an act of opposition.
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  There is a very specific theological hook here in
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  Colossians 2.14. The source identifies the phrase
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  the bond that stands against us. That is a critical text for the
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  Reformed understanding of the law.
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  The handwriting of ordinances or the bond stands qatas.
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  It poses us. Why?
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  Because in our natural state, in our total depravity, we cannot
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  meet its demands. The law comes down from God's
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  holiness. And because we are sinners, it
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  functions as a hostile witness. It accuses us.
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  So grammatically, when we see Qatar with a genitive noun,
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  we're often seeing this relationship of condemnation or
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  opposition. Very often, yes.
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  The lexicon lists acts of prevailing against in Acts 19.16
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  where the evil spirit overpowers the sons of Shiva.
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  That's Qatar or Galatians 5.7 V which is essential for
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  understanding sanctification. The flesh lusts against the
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  Spirit. That is a binary opposition.
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  They are literally fighting. They're at.
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  War. And there is a verse in the
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  source material, Mark 9.4, that sums up this binary perfectly.
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  He who is not against us is for us.
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  That against his Qatar. It establishes that you are
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  either on the team or you are the opposition coming down upon
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  the team. There's no middle ground.
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  OK, so we have this motion down that turns into hostility, but
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  now we have to flip the page. Grammatically speaking, the
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  sources show a huge shift when Qatar is used with the
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  accusative case. This is the pivot point.
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  This is where everything changes.
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  When Qatar takes the accusative, it no longer means against or
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  down from. It shifts to mean according to,
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  in conformity with or corresponding to.
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  And this is where the theology just blows wide open.
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  Instead of a weight pressing down, it becomes a track we run
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  on. The source calls it a marker of
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  norm of similarity or homogeneity.
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  That is a bit of a mouthful, but it is accurate.
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  It establishes a standard. Think of a mold that you pour
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  liquid into. The liquid takes the shape of
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  the mold. It exists according to the mold.
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  The first example that just screams out from the data is
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  First Corinthians 15.3. Christ died for our sins, could
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  tell the scriptures. Stop and think about the weight
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  of that. The Apostle Paul is not just
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  saying the Scriptures mentioned in passing.
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  He is saying the death of Christ was shaped by, governed by, and
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  in total conformity with the Old Testament.
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  It followed the trajectory. Precisely.
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  The source material actually uses that word trajectory.
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  The death of Jesus was not a random tragedy.
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  It was not Plan B. It was a fulfillment that fit
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  the specific standard set by Isaiah, the Psalms, and the law.
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  From a Reformed perspective, this underscores the unity of
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  the covenant. The New Testament event happens
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  according to the Old Testament plan.
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  And Speaking of plans, the sources bring us right into the
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  heart of the doctrine of election.
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  Here we have Romans 8.27. Yes, where the Spirit intercedes
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  for the Saints. And how does he do it?
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  Qatar, God. That means according to God's
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  will. The Spirit does not pray for us
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  based on what we want or what we think we need.
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  He prays for us based on the standard of the Father's perfect
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  will. And then the very next verse,
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  Romans 8.28, the famous one, we know that all things work
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  together for good to those who love God, to those who are the
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  called Kata prophesim. According to His purpose, this
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  is the anchor of sovereignty. The calling is not based on our
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  performance. It is not kata or works.
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  It is strictly conforming to the standard of God's eternal
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  purpose. That purpose is the mold, and
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  Our Calling takes its shape. I found Titus 1.1 in the list as
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  well. It talks about the faith of
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  God's elect and the truth which is kata godliness according to
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  godliness. And Ephesians 1.5 predestined
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  kata the good pleasure of His will.
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  You see, the preposition protects the doctrine, it fences
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  it off. If salvation were based on us,
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  it would be kata human effort. But the text repeatedly,
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  insistently locks it down. It is Qatar his will, Qatar his
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  purpose, Qatar his good pleasure.
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  The standard for our salvation is located entirely external to
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  man, in God Himself. That creates such a sense of
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  security, doesn't it? If it is according to his fixed
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  purpose, it is not fluctuating based on my bad days are my good
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  days. That's right, the norm is
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  immutable. God's purpose is the fixed point
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  in the universe. Now moving on to another massive
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  theological category, Christology, the study of who
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  Jesus is. The lexicons provide some
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  fascinating data on how Qatar helps us distinguish between the
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  different aspects of the person. This.
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  Is where grammar saves us from heresy.
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  I mean, we have to be able to talk about Jesus as fully God
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  and fully man without mixing those two natures up or
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  confusing them. And the source points right to
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  Romans 1.3 to 4. It describes Jesus in two
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  distinct ways using this word. First, he is born of the seed of
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  David Katasarka. According to the Flesh.
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  And then declared to be the son of God with power Katanuma.
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  According to the spirit of holiness, this is the hypostatic
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  union in a nutshell. When we look at Jesus through
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  the norm or standard of his humanity, He is a descendant of
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  David, he has a lineage, he has limits, he gets tired.
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  But when we look at him according to the Spirit, he is
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  the powerful Son of God, risen from the dead.
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  So the preposition allows us to attribute things to one nature
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  without denying the other. Right.
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  If you did not have Qatar, you might end up saying God died,
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  which is impossible, or Jesus was just a man, which is
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  blasphemous. But Qatar clarifies the
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  perspective. It says, viewed from this
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  standard, here's what is true. Viewed from that standard,
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  here's what is true. Both are true at the same time.
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  There is a really touching example of this in Hebrews 4.15.
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  It says he was tempted in all points kata likeness, yet
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  without sin. According to our likeness, he
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  entered into the standard of human experience.
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  He did not hover above it, and Hebrews 2.17 says he had to be
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  made like his brethren Kata Ponta in all respects but.
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  He fits the mold of humanity. Completely.
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  He conformed to the standard of human suffering and limitation,
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  yet without the sin that usually accompanies it.
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  That kata is what makes him a sympathetic high priest.
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  He knows the trajectory of human life because he walked according
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  to it. That transitions us perfectly
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  into how we are supposed to walk.
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  We have talked about the standard for Christ, but the
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  sources have a lot to say about kata as a standard for our
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  conduct. This is the rule of faith and
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  life in sanctification. The big question is what
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  standard governs your behavior? What are you conforming to?
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  What is your Qatar? The sources highlight a conflict
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  here between traditions and Christ.
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  In Mark 7.5, the Pharisees are upset.
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  They come to Jesus and ask why do your disciples not walk?
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  Qatar, the tradition of the elders.
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  Notice the standard there, the tradition of the elders.
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  That was the mold they wanted the disciples to fit into, and
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  Jesus rejects that. Reformed theology has always
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  picked up on this. We reject human tradition as a
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  binding standard for the conscience.
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  We do not walk Qatar tradition. And there is a warning in
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  Colossians 2.8 about this too. It warns against philosophy and
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  empty deceit. That is Qatar, the tradition of
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  men, Qatar the elemental spirits of the world, and not Qatar
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  Christ. That is the great contrast.
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  Is your life shaped by the elemental spirits?
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  You know the basic principles of how the world operates, or is it
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  shaped according to Christ? The Christian life must be
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  conformed to the Christ standard, not the world
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  standard. And this goes back to Romans 8
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  again, does it not? We saw it earlier with election,
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  but verses four and five talk about our daily walk.
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  It does. It contrasts those who walk kata
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  sarka according to the flesh and those who walk kata pneuma
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  according to the spirit. And this is not just about doing
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  bad things versus doing good things, is it?
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  It feels deeper than that. Oh, it is much deeper.
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  It is about the regulating principle of 1's life.
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  The source mentions the mindset here.
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  A person who is governed by the flesh has a mind that is
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  conformed to the flesh's agenda. Their thoughts run along the
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  tracks of self-interest, pride and sin.
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  But the person governed by the Spirit has a mindset conformed
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  to the Spirit. Their desires, their goals,
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  their thoughts. They run along a different track
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  altogether. It is like gravity.
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  If you live according to gravity, things fall down.
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  If you live according to the Spirit, your life moves upward
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  toward God. That is a good analogy.
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  It is the operating system of the human heart and you can only
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  run one OS at a time. Let's shift gears to a usage
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  that I found surprisingly practical, the distributive use
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  of Qatar. This is a grammatical function
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  where the preposition takes a hole and breaks it down into
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  parts. It distributes something.
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  Right. The lexicon lists phrases like
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  hata polis, city by city, or Qatar itos year by year, or the
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  one we know well, cocknamer and day by day.
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  It implies a thoroughness of particularity is not just
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  everywhere in a general sense, it is in each specific place,
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  not just always, but every single day.
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  And looking at the theology, Ephesians 4.7 uses this.
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  But to each one of us, grace was given Qatar, the measure of
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  Christ's gift. Think about what that means for
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  the church. God does not just dump grace on
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  the church like a bucket of water.
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  He distributes it according to a specific measure for each
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  individual. Your grace is measured out for
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  you, mine for me. It makes the grace particular
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  personal. It does, and 1st Corinthians
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  12.8 talks about gifts giving Katah the Spirit.
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  This reflects the Reformed view of the distinct roles within the
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  body of Christ. We are not all the same.
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  We have distinct roles, distinct gifts distributed by a sovereign
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  hand for the good of the whole. I like the example from Mark
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  6.40 in the sources regarding the feeding of the 5000.
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  It says they sat down in groups by hundreds and by 50s.
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  Hatah hundreds in kata 50s. It shows order.
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  God is not a God of confusion. For Corinthians 14.4, He
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  actually commands us. Let all things be done decently
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  in Qatar. Order according to order.
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  So even our church services, the way we organize our worship, is
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  governed by this preposition. It should fit the standard of
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  orderliness. Absolutely.
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  A chaotic church, a disordered life, these things are not
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  operating according to the character of God.
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  Now, we touched on this word trajectory earlier, but I want
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  to zero in on it for our final segment.
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  The source material explicitly discusses Qatar as implying
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  movement along a specific line. This is the motion along a path
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  definition. Yeah, it is distinct from just
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  wandering around. Yeah, it implies A constraint.
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  You are on a road. You are following a line.
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  Acts 8.36 mentions going Qatar the road.
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  That's the literal sense. But Philippians 3, 3.1 fourth is
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  the spiritual heavy hitter here, Paul says.
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  I press on. Kataska Pawn.
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  Toward the goal or according to the mark, Paul is not running
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  aimlessly. He is not just trying hard in
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  general. He is locked onto a target.
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  His life has a trajectory and he is moving along it with
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  everything he's got. And the sources connect this to
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  Hebrews 11.7. Speaking of Noah, it talks about
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  righteousness, which is Katah faith.
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  That is a vital distinction. Righteousness is not something
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  we achieve by wandering through a field of good works hoping we
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  find it. It comes along the trajectory of
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  faith. Faith is the path, the means by
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  which righteousness is received. That connects right back to
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  justification by faith alone. We do not achieve righteousness
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  through a trajectory of works, but according to the trajectory
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  of faith. It is the channel.
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  If you get off that track, the faith track, you lose the
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  righteousness. It is constrained to that path.
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  Your whole Christian life is meant to be a motion along that
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  line. So what does this all mean?
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  We have looked at pigs running down cliffs, law standing
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  against us, Christ fitting the mold of Scripture, and grace
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  being distributed measure by measure.
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  It all comes back to this one word.
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  It really comes down to which side of the preposition you are
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  on. Kata teaches us that we are
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  either under judgement, where the law stands against, as the
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  hostile genitive use, or we are under grace, living according to
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  the spirit, the accusative use of standard.
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  It is the standard by which we are measured.
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  Precisely the validity of the Christian life depends on what
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  standard it is measured by. If measured according to works,
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  as Romans 4.4 says, it is debt. You are owed something, and
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  usually that something is judgement.
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  But if it is measured according to grace.
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  Or Romans 4.16. If measured according to grace.
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  It is promise, it is secure. It depends on God.
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  Not on you. The source material also
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  mentioned Romans 2.2 that the judgment of God is kata truth.
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  And that is the terrifying part if you are outside of Christ.
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  God's judgment is not based on rumor or opinion or how He's
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  feeling that day. It conforms perfectly to the
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  truth. We need a mediator who has
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  satisfied that standard of truth for us.
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  Before we go, there was one final nugget in the source
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  material that I think is a great provocative thought to leave
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  with our listeners. It is from Acts 17 when Paul is
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  in Athens. Yes, the unknown God speech on
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  Mars Hill. Paul quotes their own poets, he
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  says. As even some of your own poets
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  have said, the Greek is Kathimus, according to you.
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  He used a cultural reference, something according to them, to
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  pivot to a transcendent truth. He met them on their own ground.
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  It raises A profound question for us today.
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  Paul was willing to meet them according to their
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  understanding, to bridge the gap.
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  But the provocation is this. How often do we do the reverse?
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  How often do we judge God according to human standards?
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  Galatians 1.11 says the Gospel is not Qataman.
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  It is not according to man. Right.
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  We constantly try to shrink God down to fit our mold.
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  We want a God who is Qatar our preferences, Qatar our politics,
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  Qatar our comfort. But the gospel calls us to have
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  our human standards judged according to God.
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  We do not bring him down to our trajectory.
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  He lifts us into his. That is a lot to chew on.
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  We started with the preposition and we ended up with the
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  sovereignty of God and the nature of reality.
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  That is the beauty of reformed thinking.
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  Every syllable of Scripture matters.
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  Thank you for listening. We hope this deep dive into
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  Qatar has given you a new standard for reading your New
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  Testament. Indeed, keep thinking.
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  We will see you next time.