Be sober (3525) nepho by Greek Word Studies

Be sober (3525) (nepho) in the physical sense literally was used to refer to either complete abstinence or in a relative sense to refer to temperance (drinking but not to the point of intoxication). Yes, we can cast the burden of our anxiety and cares on God, but we are not absolved of the duty to remain sober and watchful. God's Spirit will enable us to carry out both of these commands (jettison self-reliance, self-effort!) but we are ultimately responsible to carry them out in loving obedience. To sum up all of the commands given to us in the NT (of which there are in the range of 1000!), believers are 100% dependent and 100% responsible to obey! In the NT nepho is used only figuratively meaning to be free from every form of mental and spiritual "intoxication". The idea then is to be calm and collected in spirit, circumspect, self-controlled, well-balanced, clear headed. Be self-possessed under all circumstances or for believers a more accurate description would be "Spirit" possessed, for indeed there is no other way we can stay sober in our own strength. We are 100% responsible for staying sober minded but we are 100% dependent on the Spirit's enablement to exercise restraint and keep ourselves free from excess, from evil passions, from rashness, etc. The aorist tense, imperative (command) mood calls for urgent action. Peter is saying you must "Do this now. Keep your head clear!" And the next passage explains why believers need to remain watchful and vigilant, for we have a watchful, vigilant adversary! Here are the 6 uses of nepho in Scripture (none in Lxx) (note some are discussed in more detail below)... 1 Thessalonians 5:6 (note) so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober....8 But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation. 2 Timothy 4:5 (note) But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. 1 Peter 1:13 (note) Therefore, gird your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 4:7 (note) The end of all things is at hand; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer. 1 Peter 5:8 Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Nepho conveys the idea of freedom from excitability (a contrast to the excitement of drunkenness) and thus means to be calm and collected in spirit, temperate (marked by moderation, keeping within limits, not extreme or excessive), not given to excessive indulgence in drink or any other activity, dispassionate (not influenced by strong feeling; especially not affected by personal or emotional involvement), circumspect (careful to consider all circumstances and possible consequences, prudently watchful and discreet in the face of danger or risk), with equanimity (evenness of mind especially under stress and suggests a habit of mind that is only rarely disturbed under great strain), cool (marked by steady dispassionate calmness and self-control) and unimpassioned. Wiersbe says that "a part of this soberness includes not blaming everything on the devil. Some people see a demon behind every bush and blame Satan for their headaches, flat tires, and high rent. While it is true that Satan can inflict physical sickness and pain (Luke 13:16; and the Book of Job), we have no biblical authority for casting out “demons of headache” or “demons of backache." (Wiersbe, W: Bible Exposition Commentary. 1989. Victor) Nepho means taking heed of what is happening and pursuing a course with calm and steady aim. Nepho "denotes a condition free from every form of mental and spiritual loss of self-control; it is an attitude of self-discipline that avoids the extremes of the 'reckless irresponsibility of self indulgence on the one hand, and of religious ecstasy on the other.' It inculcates a calm, steady state of mind that evaluates things correctly, so that it is not thrown off balance by new and fascinating ideas. Such 'level headedness' is a constant Christian need." (Hiebert, D. First Peter. page 91. Moody, 1984, 1992) "Christian living needs order as well as ardour." (E. P. Clowney. The Message of 1 Peter. page 63) Nepho (and similar words in this word group) is the antithesis of all mental fuzziness. The Greek culture highly valued sober judgment in both individual and public life. Barclay says that the Greek word nepho like the English, can have two meanings. It can mean that they must refrain from drunkenness in the literal sense of the term; and it can also mean that they must be steady in their minds. They must become intoxicated neither with intoxicating liquor nor with intoxicating thoughts; they must preserve a balanced judgment. It is easy for the Christian to be carried away with this, that, or the next sudden enthusiasm and to become readily intoxicated with the latest fashion and the newest craze. Peter is appealing to them to maintain the essential steadiness of the man who knows what he believes...This does not mean that the Christian is to be lost in a gloomy joylessness; but it does mean that his approach to life must not be frivolous and irresponsible. To take things seriously is to be aware of their real importance and to be ever mindful of their consequences in time and in eternity. It is to approach life, not as a jest, but as a serious matter for which we are answerable. (Barclay, W: The New Daily Study Bible Westminster John Knox Press) Sober characterizes the individual marked by self-control; of sound moral judgment. Sober Christians deny themselves worldly pleasures (see note Titus 2:12). This allows them to be always alert, able to guard against Satan’s attacks (1Pet 5:8) and ready to receive the revelation of Christ (see note 1 Peter 1:13). (Youngblood, R. F., Bruce, F. F., Harrison, R. K., & Thomas Nelson Publishers. Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Dictionary ) Nepho speaks of a sense of coolness (arising out of abstinence from what will excite) of one who is prepared for any emergency. Part of being sober is not blaming everything on the Devil! Nepho is the proper exercise of the mind, that state of mind in which the individual is self-controlled, and is able to see things without the distortion caused by worry, fear, and their related attitudes. Writing to the Thessalonian saints Paul reminds them that you are all sons of light and sons of day... not of night nor of darkness (Believers live in an entirely different sphere than those who will experience God’s wrath in the Day of the Lord);" and that because of who are they are (emphasizing that there must be an inseparable link between our new nature and new behavior) they are to "not sleep as others do (day people can still do deeds of darkness), but... be alert (continuously awake and able to rightly assess what is happening in the spiritual dimension) and sober (nepho - calm, collected, and circumspect) For those who sleep do their sleeping at night, and those who get drunk get drunk at night. But since we are of the day, let us be sober (nepho), having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation. (see notes 1Thessalonians 5:5; 5:6; 5:7; 5:8). Nepho points to a condition of moral alertness, the sense of being so exercised and disciplined that all fear of sleeping again is removed. Paul exhorted the Thessalonians to live consistently with their new natures. The present tense (continuous action = lifestyle = habitual action) verbs in 1Thessalonians 5:6 (sleep...be alert.. and sober) call for the Thessalonians to be continuously awake, alert, and sober. A habitually spiritually sober person exhibits self-control, lives a serious, balanced, calm, steady life, and maintains proper priorities. To be sober is to be alert; the two terms are essentially synonyms. Just as sleep and drunkenness define night people’s insensitivity to spiritual reality, so alertness and soberness describe day people’s sensitivity to it. William Hendricksen in discussing 1Thessalonians 5:6 adds that The sober person lives deeply. His pleasures are not primarily those of the senses, like the pleasures of the drunkard for instance, but those of the soul. He is by no means a Stoic. On the contrary, with a full measure of joyful anticipation he looks forward to the return of the Lord (see note 1 Peter 1:13-14). But he does not run away from his task! Note how both here and also in 1 Peter 5:8 the two verbs to be watchful and to be sober are used as synonyms. (Hendricksen, W. New Testament Commentary: Exposition of Thessalonians, Timothy, and Titus. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1981). Knowing that Timothy would face spiritual opposition especially toward the pure truth of the gospel, Paul exhorted him to be sober (nepho - present imperative = make this your continual practice) in all things, endure (aorist imperative = do this now. It is urgent) hardship, do (aorist imperative) the work of an evangelist, fulfill (aorist imperative) your ministry." (see note 2 Timothy 4:5) Paul is encouraging his your protégé to be levelheaded, well-balanced, and in control of his faculties and by extension to be stable, unwavering, and steadfast. MacArthur comments that the sober preacher is like the diligent athlete, who “exercises self-control in all things,” who, like Paul himself, runs “in such a way, as not without aim,” boxes “in such a way, as not beating the air,” and buffets his body to make it his slave, lest, after having “preached to others, [he himself] should be disqualified” (1Cor 9:25, 26, 27). In the midst of a changing world, a changing church, and even a changing gospel—which is not really the gospel but a distortion of “the gospel of Christ” (Gal 1:7; cf. 2Cor 11:4)—he remains committed to the changeless truth of God’s Word. (MacArthur, J. 2 Timothy. page 182. Chicago, Ill.: Moody Press ) Peter used nepho two other times in his epistle, the first use calling for is tried and tested saved readers to therefore (on the basis of all the great truths in the preceding verses) brace up your minds (pull yourselves together); be sober (circumspect, morally alert); set your hope wholly and unchangeably on the grace (divine favor) that is coming to you when Jesus Christ (the Messiah) is revealed. (Amplified Version, see 1Peter 1:13-note) Hiebert says nepho in this verse is literally translated "being sober", this mindset supporting a life of hope (absolute certainty of future good). He adds that the present tense (1Peter 1:13-note) calls for a continuing state or habitual temper of sobriety. (Hiebert, D. First Peter. page 91. Moody, 1984, 1992). Constable says that Peter is saying in effect, Now that you have focused your thinking positively you need to roll up your sleeves mentally and adopt some attitudes that will affect your activities...Sober of spirit describes a Christian who is in full control of his speech and conduct in contrast to one who allows his flesh (i.e., his sinful human nature) to govern him. (Constable, T. Expository Notes on the Bible) In Peter's third use of nepho he reminds the suffering saints that The end of all things is at hand (a process consummated with a resulting nearness > imminent); therefore, be of sound judgment and sober (nepho) spirit for the purpose of prayer. (1 Peter 4:7, 8, 9-note). Davids has written that proper prayer is not an ‘opiate’ or escape, but rather a function of clear vision and a seeking of even clearer vision from God. It is only through clear communication with headquarters that a soldier can effectively stand guard. Nepho is related to the adjective, nephalios, used to describe one of the qualities that should mark overseers (1Ti 3:2) and the wives of those who take the lead among the saints (1Ti 3:11). Likewise older men are exhorted in a similar sense "to be temperate" (nephalios Titus 2:2 see note); it is to be observed that the Christian sobriety of mature years is the result of self-control and the study of the Scriptures in youth. Barclay comments that saints must be sober and watchful. The fact that we cast everything upon God does not give us the right to sit back and to do nothing. Cromwell’s advice to his troops was: “Trust in God, and keep your powder dry.” Peter knew how hard this vigilance was, for he remembered how in Gethsemane he and his fellow-disciples slept when they should have been watching with Christ (Mt 26:38, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46). The Christian is the man who trusts but at the same time puts all his effort and all his vigilance into the business of living for Christ. (The New Daily Study Bible Westminster John Knox Press) Charles Simeon writes that... An undue attachment to the things of time and sense gives him a great advantage over us. He will not fail to assault us on our weak side (It was he who instigated Judas to treachery, and Ananias to falsehood; but he wrought by means of their covetousness, John 13:2. Acts 5:3); but a deadness to the world will in some measure disarm him. He prevailed not against our Lord, because he found no irregular affection in him (Jn 14:30); nor could he so easily overcome us if we disregarded earthly things. A contempt of life has been a principal mean whereby the saints and martyrs in all ages have triumphed over him (Re 12:11). (1 Peter 5:8, 9 The Means of Defeating Satan's Malice) BE ON THE ALERT: gregoresate (2PAAM): THE IMPORTANCE OF WATCHFULNESS Be on the alert - Another version says "be vigilant" which means be watchful, be circumspect, be attentive to discover and avoid danger and/or provide for safety.

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Be sober (3525) nepho

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