Lexical Summary haphé: Touch, contact Original Word: ἁφή Strong's Exhaustive Concordance joint. From haptomai; probably a ligament (as fastening) -- joint. see GREEK haptomai NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originfrom haptó Definition a joint NASB Translation joint (1), joints (1). Thayer's Greek Lexicon STRONGS NT 860: ἁφήἁφή, ἁφῆς, ἡ (ἅπτω to fasten together, to fit) (Vu]g.junctura (andnexus)), bond, connection (A. V. joint (see especially Lightfoot on Col. as below)): Ephesians 4:16; Colossians 2:19. (Plutarch, Anton c. 27.) Topical Lexicon Medical background in the Greco-Roman world The term ἁφή belonged to the language of physicians, describing the point where bones, sinews and nerves are connected and held in place. Classical writers such as Hippocrates spoke of these “ligaments” as the essential ties that allow the whole frame to move in harmony. Paul’s use of the word assumes that first-century readers grasped the indispensability of such connective tissue: remove or sever it, and the body is crippled. Pauline metaphor of the Body of Christ Ephesians 4:16 and Colossians 2:19 are the only New Testament occurrences, yet they form a theological hinge between Christology and ecclesiology. In both letters Christ is the Head, the source of life and direction; believers are the limbs and organs; ἁφή describes the vital sinews that bind those members to one another and to the Head. • Ephesians 4:16: “From Him the whole body, fitted and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love through the work of each individual part.” Though the renderings differ slightly (“supporting ligament” versus “joints and ligaments”), both stress a participatory growth that originates “from Him” and advances “in love” or “as God causes.” The ligaments are thus not optional extras but the Spirit-empowered bonds that allow diversity within unity. Relationship to church unity and growth 1 Corinthians 12:12-27 elaborates the same body metaphor with other vocabulary, yet the principle is identical: no member is self-sufficient; no gift is superfluous. The ἁφαι play at least three roles: 1. Cohesion—holding diverse parts together so that schism is avoided (compare John 17:21). Because growth is “as God causes,” the unity symbolized by ἁφή is both God-given and God-sustained. Human effort cannot manufacture it, yet believers are responsible to “make every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit” (Ephesians 4:3). Warnings against false disconnect Colossians 2:19 sets the positive role of ἁφή within a negative warning: the heretic who “has lost connection to the head” forfeits the growth that only divine ligaments supply. Intellectual or spiritual independence from Christ severs the body’s life-lines, leading to paralysis or death. Doctrinal fidelity and relational integrity therefore stand or fall together. Ministry applications for today • Discipleship: Mature Christians serve as living ligaments, linking new believers to the Head through teaching and example (2 Timothy 2:2). Connection with other biblical themes • Covenant oneness: The ligaments echo the Genesis 2:24 union, now expanded to the whole redeemed community (Ephesians 5:30-32). Summary Strong’s Greek 860, ἁφή, pictures the hidden yet critical bonds that Christ supplies to His church. These divinely forged ligaments secure unity, enable coordinated ministry and channel life-giving power, ensuring that “the whole body… grows and builds itself up in love.” Forms and Transliterations αφαίς αφή αφηγή αφηγούμενε αφηγούμενοι αφηγουμένοις αφηγούμενον αφηγούμενος αφηγουμένου αφηγουμένους αφηγουμένω αφήν αφης αφής ἁφῆς αφων αφών ἁφῶν aphes aphēs aphon aphōn haphes haphês haphēs haphē̂s haphon haphôn haphōn haphō̂nLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Ephesians 4:16 N-GFSGRK: διὰ πάσης ἁφῆς τῆς ἐπιχορηγίας NAS: every joint supplies, KJV: that which every joint supplieth, INT: by every joint of the supply Colossians 2:19 N-GFP |
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