THE
HARDWORKING FARMER: ton kopionta (PAPMSA) georgon (3SPAI): (Isa 28:24-25;28:26,
Mt 9:37-38;
20:1;
21:33-41;
Lu 10:2;
Jn 4:35;4:36
4:37-38
1Cor 3:6-9;
1Cor 3:6-7
8-9
9:7
9:8
9:9
9:10
9:11)
the tiller of the soil who labors
with wearisome effort (Wuest)
The
harvestman who labors in the field
(WNT)
Hardworking
(2872) (kopiao
from
kopos =
labor, fatigue) This root word
kopos
(see
word study) is used in secular Greek of “a
beating,” “weariness” (as though one had been beaten) and “exertion,”
was the proper word for physical tiredness induced by work, exertion or
heat. Kopiao means to
to exhibit great effort and exertion, to the point of sweat and
exhaustion. To physically become worn out, weary or faint. To engage in hard work
with the implication of difficulty
and trouble.
Kopiao speaks of intense toil even to the
point of utter exhaustion if necessary. The work described by
kopiao was left one so weary it was as if the person had
taken a beating. Kopiao
describes not so much the actual exertion as the weariness which follows
the straining of all one's powers to the utmost.
Lightfoot says that kopiao
is used especially of the labor undergone by the athlete in his
training.
MacArthur adds that kopiao
does not stress
the amount of work, but rather the effort. A man’s reward from God is
proportional to the excellence of his ministry and the effort he puts
into it. Excellence combined with diligence mark a man worthy of the
highest honor. (MacArthur,
John: 1Timothy Moody Press
or
Logos)
Kopiao is used 24 times in the NT in the NASB (2x
Mt;
2x Lu;
2x Jn;
1x Acts;
2x Ro;
3x 1Cor;
Gal;
Eph;
Phil;
Col;
1Th;
2x 1Ti;
2Ti;
Rev)
and is translated: diligently labor, 1; grown weary, 1; hard-working, 1;
labor, 3; labored, 4; labors, 1; toil, 4; wearied, 1; weary, 1; work
hard, 1; worked, 2; worked hard, 1; worked hard worked hard, 1; workers,
1; working hard, 1.
Matthew 6:28 (note)
"And why are you anxious about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the
field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin,
Matthew 11:28 "Come to Me, all who are weary and
heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.
Luke 5:5 And Simon answered and said, "Master, we worked hard
all night and caught nothing, but at Your bidding I will let down the
nets."
Luke 12:27 "Consider the lilies, how they grow; they neither
toil nor spin; but I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory did not
clothe himself like one of these.
John 4:6 and Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being
wearied from His journey, was sitting thus by the well. It was about
the sixth hour.
John 4:38 "I sent you to reap that for which you have not
labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their
labor (kopos)."
Acts 20:35 "In everything I showed you that by working
hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of
the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, 'It is more blessed to give than
to receive.'"
Romans 16:6 (note)
Greet Mary, who has worked hard for you.
Romans 16:12 (note)
Greet Tryphaena and Tryphosa, workers in the Lord. Greet Persis the
beloved, who has worked hard in the Lord.
1 Corinthians 4:12 and we toil, working with our own
hands; when we are reviled, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure;
1 Corinthians 15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and
His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more
than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.
1 Corinthians 16:16 that you also be in subjection to such men
and to everyone who helps in the work and labors.
Galatians 4:11 I fear for you, that perhaps I have
labored over you in vain.
Ephesians 4:28 (note)
Let him who steals steal no longer; but rather let him labor,
performing with his own hands what is good, in order that he may have
something to share with him who has need.
Philippians 2:16 (note)
holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may have
cause to glory because I did not run in vain nor toil in vain.
Colossians 1:29
(note) And for this
purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which
mightily works within me.
1Thessalonians 5:12 (note)
But we request of you, brethren, that you appreciate those who
diligently labor among you, and have charge over you in the
Lord and give you instruction,
1 Timothy 4:10 (note)
For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our
hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of
believers.
1 Timothy 5:17 Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy
of double honor, especially those who work hard at
preaching and teaching.
2 Timothy 2:6 (note)
The hard-working farmer ought to be the first to receive
his share of the crops.
Revelation 2:3 (note) and
you have perseverance and have endured for My name's sake, and have
not grown weary.
Kopiao is used 34 times in
the
Septuagint (LXX)
(Deut 25:18; Jos 24:13;
Jdg. 5:26; 1 Sa 6:12; 14:31; 17:39; 2Sa 17:2; 23:7, 10; Job 2:9; 20:18;
39:16; Ps. 6:6; 69:3; 127:1; Pr 4:12; Isa 5:27; 16:12; 30:4; 31:3;
33:24; 40:28, 30f; 43:22; 45:14; 46:1; 47:13, 15; 49:4; 57:10; 63:13;
65:23; Jer 2:24; 17:16; 51:58; Lam 5:5).
In a figurative use kopiao
means to become emotionally fatigued and discouraged and so to give up
or lose heart. For example, Jesus addressing the church at Ephesus says
you have perseverance and have endured for My name’s sake, and have
not grown weary (kopiao - you have not fainted or become exhausted). (see
note
Revelation 2:3)
(Comment:
Are you growing weary in your
Christian life? Look to Jesus and His exhortation which is timeless and
filled with edifying wisdom. Dear child of the King, press on in His
power, for He has already won the victory, and though your battle may
now seem intense, it is only for a short time compared to eternity!)
This church at Ephesus (see note
Revelation 2:1) had not yielded to disappointment, ingratitude, or
criticism, but had remained faithful to the Lord, loyal to His Word and
to the work to which He had called them.
The
present tense pictures continual wearying, tiring activity.
This is his way of life.
John describes Jesus as
being
wearied (kopiao) from His journey, was sitting thus by
the well. It was about the sixth hour. (Jn
4:6)
Kopiao is the verb
in Jesus' famous invitation
Come
(aorist
imperative
- Command that conveys sense of urgency - Do it now! Don't delay!) to
Me, all who
are
weary (kopiao) and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest
(Mt 11:28)
Paul used kopiao three
times in the last chapter of Romans commending those who like hard
working farmers had worked hard in ministry for the
Lord. (see notes
Romans 16:6,
16:12)
Paul explained to the Corinthians
the "secret" of his ability to work hard writing...
I
labored (kopiao) even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with
me (1Cor 15:10)
(Comment: Here is the "secret" of the Christian life in a
nutshell! Not you striving to live the Christian life, but learning to
die to self that He might live His life through you. Yes, it is a
mystery which is difficult to explain but it is the way of victorious
living in Christ.)
Paul's deep desire to "present every man complete in Christ"
caused him to labor (kopiao),
striving according to His power, which mightily" worked within him (see
notes
Colossians 1:28;
1:29), again giving
insight into how it is possible to be a hardworking
farmer.
These passages in Colossians describe the balance one should seek in
their Christian life and ministry.
J B Phillips paraphrases
Colossians 1:29
this way...
This is what I am working at all the
time, with all the strength that God gives me.
J Vernon McGee commenting
on these passages in Colossians adds...
Oh, this should be the desire of everyone today who is working for
Christ—that He would work in us mightily to do two things: to get out
the gospel that men might be saved and then to build them up in the
faith. These are the two things the church should be doing today. (McGee,
J V: Thru the Bible Commentary: Thomas Nelson
or
Logos)
Paul writing to the
Thessalonians says...
we request of you, brethren, that you appreciate those who
diligently labor (kopiao) among you, and have charge
over you in the Lord and give you instruction. (see note
1Thessalonians 5:12)
The faithful pastor works hard among his
people and ministers to them as a shepherd cares for his sheep. In a
parallel instruction Paul says to
Let the elders who rule well be
considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard
at preaching and teaching. (1Ti
5:17)
There has to be a commitment to diligence and hard
work when you search the Scriptures in preparation for preaching and
teaching. The preacher and teacher must be the very opposite of
the “sluggard” pictured vividly in Proverbs...
The sluggard does not plow after the
autumn, So he begs during the harvest and has nothing. (Pr 20:4)
I passed by the field of the
sluggard, And by the vineyard of the man lacking sense. And behold, it
was completely overgrown with thistles, Its surface was covered with
nettles, And its stone wall was broken down. (Pr 24:30, 31)
If the farmer works hard, he
should be the first to take his share of the crops a principle found
even in the Old Testament...
(Moses asks) And who is the man that
has planted a vineyard and has not begun to use its fruit? Let him
depart and return to his house, lest he die in the battle and another
man begin to use its fruit. (Deut. 20:6)
Proverbs instructs us
that...
He who tends the fig tree will eat
its fruit; And he who cares for his master will be honored. (Pr 27:18).
Constable explains that...
A farmer must continue to sow seed
and water it if he or she wants to harvest its fruit. Likewise the
farmer for Christ must plant and nourish the gospel seed if he or she
eventually expects to reap the fruit of God’s Word in the lives of
people. All three illustrations imply dogged persistence and hold out
the prospect of reward for the faithful. (Expository
Notes)
Hendriksen commenting on the
metaphor of God's workman as a farmer emphasizes that...
Not only will his own faith be
strengthened, his hope quickened, his love deepened, and the flame of
his gift enlivened, so that he will be blessed “in his doing” (James
1:25 - But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of
liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an
effectual doer, this man shall be blessed in what he does.), but in
addition he will see in the lives of others the beginnings of those
glorious fruits that are mentioned in Galatians 5:22-23. (Hendriksen,
W., & Kistemaker, S. J. NT Commentary Set. Baker Book
or
Logos)
And so we see Paul write to the
saints at Rome...
And I do not want you to be unaware,
brethren, that often I have planned to come to you (and have been
prevented thus far) in order that I might obtain some fruit (karpos)
among you also, even as among the rest of the Gentiles. (see note
Romans 1:13)
In his letter to the beloved saints
at Philippi Paul writes...
But if I am to live on in the flesh,
this will mean fruitful (karpos)
labor (ergon - ergs a unit to measure work or energy expended) for me;
and I do not know which to choose. But I am hard-pressed from both
directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is
very much better; yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for
your sake. (See notes
Philippians 1:22;
1:23;
1:24)
(See notes on similar idea in
1Thessalonians 2:19;
2:20)
The angel explained to Daniel this
same principle of rewards to faithful farmers declaring that...
those who have insight will shine
brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who
lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. (Daniel
12:3)
TOUGH
TALK vs HARD WORK
“When all is said and
done, there is more said than done.”
It ought not to be that way!
Luther worked so hard that many days, according to his
biographers, he fell into bed. Moody’s bedtime prayer on one
occasion, as he rolled his bulk into bed, was, “Lord, I’m tired!
Amen.” John Wesley rode sixty to seventy miles many days of his
life and preached an average of three sermons a day, whether he
was riding or not. Alexander Maclaren would get to his office when
the workmen went to work so he could hear their boots outside, and
would put on workmen’s boots to remind him why he was in his
study. G. Campbell Morgan kept a newspaper clipping for twenty
years, entitled “Sheer Hard Work,” and said:
What is true of the
minister is true of every man who bears the name of Christ.
We have not begun to touch the great business of salvation
when we have sung, “Rescue the perishing, care for the
dying.” We have not entered into the business of
evangelizing the city or the world until we have put our own
lives into the business, our own immediate physical
endeavor, inspired by spiritual devotion.
Paul’s ministerial drive is a
model for us all. We will never have an authentic, apostolic ministry
unless we are willing to work to the point of exhaustion
(Hughes,
R. K. Colossians and Philemon: The Supremacy of Christ: Crossway
Books or
Logos).
In his first letter to Timothy Paul explained that he was willing to "labor (kopiao)
and strive" to discipline himself for godliness because he knew that
"godliness is profitable for all things" holding "promise for
the present life and also for the life to come" (see notes
1Timothy 4:7;
4:8;
4:9;
4:10;
4:11)
Later in that same epistle Paul associated (as in this verse on the
hardworking farmer) the idea of hard work and reward, writing:
Let
the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor,
especially those who
work
hard
(kopiao) at preaching and
teaching. (1Timothy 5:1)
Kopiao was sometimes used to refer to athletic training
and was a verb commonly used among the down-trodden masses of the Roman
world.
Kopiao emphasizes the
intensity of labor required of Christian farmers who would be about the
business of making disciples. Simply put...it's hard work!
James reminds us that a
farmer needed patience
telling his readers
Be patient, therefore, brethren,
until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the
farmer
waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it,
until it gets the early and late rains.
(James 5:7).
As someone has said
The harvest is not the end of the
meeting but at the end of the age.
Those who labor for the Lord
are blessed and rewarded here and hereafter.
Chambers comments
that...
The worker has to have
discernment like that of a farmer, that is, he must know how to
watch, how to wait, and how to work with wonder. The farmer does
not wait with folded arms but with intense activity, he keeps at
it industriously until the harvest. (Approved Unto God)
The
hardworking
farmer
is not a glamorous metaphor
like the athlete or soldier for the farmer begins his demanding work early and
often goes late, limited finally by the dimming light of day. His work
is often tedious, boring and unexciting. Not many farmers every
become celebrities unlike soldiers and athletes. He is
often called to endure cold, heat, rain, and drought. He plows whether
the soil is
hard or not. He waits not for a convenient time because
the seasons do not wait for him (see note
2 Timothy 4:2). When
is time to plant, he
must plant. When weeds appear, he must extract them. When the
fruit ripens, he must harvest. What drives the farmer to labor under
such grueling, unpredictable conditions? Is it not because he is
looking forward to the bountiful harvest (see note
2 Peter 1:11).
But while he tarries, the bulk of his labor is
tedious, humdrum, and unexciting.
Unlike the teacher, the
soldier, or the athlete, a farmer often works alone with no
students to stimulate, no fellow soldiers to fight alongside and
no crowd in the stands to cheer him on. The lives of many
believers are like the farmer's life. To be sure, there may
be seasons of harvest excitement, but for the most part the
daily routine is often mundane and seemingly
unrewarding. But like the hardworking farmer, faithful believers are promised God’s blessing and
reward not only in this life but in that to come. Now they may be underpaid,
unjustly treated, or unappreciated but they have not seen the bountiful
harvest reward Christ will present to the faithful
hardworking
farmer.
><> ><> ><>
ILLUSTRATION - THE
HARDWORKING FARMER - The patience
called for in the spiritual farmer waiting to see his eternal harvest
reminds me of the true story of Henry C. Morrison a little known "hardworking
farmer"
in God's missionary fields, toiling some forty years in the
difficult fields of Africa. As the story is told, he became sick
and had to return home to America, and as providence would have
it, the boat he returned on was also carrying a well known guest.
As the great ocean liner docked in New York Harbor there was a
great crowd gathered to greet President Teddy Roosevelt who
received a grand welcome-home-party after his widely publicized
African Safari. Resentment seized the hardworking
farmer,
Henry Morrison, and he turned to God saying "I have come back home
after all this time and service to the church and there is no one,
not even one person here to welcome me home." Then a small voice
came to Morrison reminding him "You're not home yet." Our ultimate
harvest is yet future and our future reward is out of this world!
><> ><> ><>
Robert Sheffield gives
the following illustration of hard work...
Paul used the illustration of a
farmer. The farmer is a hard worker. If you don’t apply this to
commitment and discipline, you won’t get anywhere. How often do
we experience hard labor and wearisome toil in our Christian
lives?
Some years ago in Canada I
joined a labor union to get some temporary work. On my first day
of working the foreman assigned me and two other laborers the job
of taking out of storage some large sheets of plywood at a
warehouse. The foreman dropped us off at the warehouse and said he
would be back for us at noon.
As soon as he left, the two
other men sat down, lit up their cigarettes, and relaxed. As a
Christian who believed in an honest day’s work for an honest
day’s pay, I went ahead and worked by myself. This so upset the
other two that they refused to be assigned with me the following
day.
Many people don’t want to work
hard. This is true in the Christian world too. Few are committed
to the labor it takes to do the things God wants done. This is
what Paul encouraged Timothy to do. (Discipleship Journal: Issue
6. Colorado Springs: The Navigators/NavPress)
><> ><> ><>
OUGHT TO BE
THE FIRST TO RECEIVE HIS SHARE OF THE CROPS: dei (3SPAI) proton ton karpon metalambanein (PAN): (1Cor 9:23;
Heb 10:36)
has the
first claim on any crop that is harvested (NJB)
that
has the first claim on any crop that is harvested
(NJB)
to be the first to take of the fruit
(BBE)
who
must be the first partaker of the fruits
(Amp)
Ought
(1163) (dei) means that which is needful or necessary and is
saying that the Christian farmer needs to be the first to partake of the
crops
(karpos
= fruit).
Receive his share (3335)
(metalambano from
meta
= with, denoting
association + lambáno = receive) means to receive as
one's share in or as one's part of. The idea is to share or
participate in something, in this case something which is
"imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in
heaven for you" (see note
1 Peter 1:4)
Dear set apart one (holy one,
saint) of God, you have been graciously granted an allotment for
you are God's workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works
which He prepared before you knew Him as Lord that you should now
live your life carrying out those good works in His power and for
His glory (see note
Ephesians 2:10).
So even as Joshua (representing Israel) had an allotment granted
to him by God, he still had to step out in faith and obedience to
lay hold of his share, for God explained to him that...
Every place on which the sole
of your foot treads (man's responsibility), I have given it to you
(God's sovereignty), just as I spoke to Moses. (Joshua 1:3) (Comment:
All though Scripture one can observe this mysterious juxtaposition
of man's responsibility and God's sovereignty)
Crops (2590)
(karpos)
is used in its literal sense to
refer to fruit, produce or offspring, which describes that which is
produced by the inherent energy of a living organism.
Karpos
is
what something naturally produces.
Figuratively, karpos
is used of the consequence of physical, mental, or spiritual
action. In the NT the figurative (metaphorical) uses predominate and
this is particularly true in the Gospels, where human actions and words
are viewed as fruit growing out of a person's essential being or
character.
Karpos refers to that which
originates or comes from something producing an effect or result
(benefit, advantage, profit, utility).
