Charitoo

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During some recent studies related to the Christmas story I came across a phrase used in the KJV which we frequently hear used today amongst saints. That phrase is "highly favoured". How often do we hear others say, "I am blessed and highly favoured"?

Until just recently I always thought of that saying as just a religious cliche and never gave it much attention. After all, the term appears only one time in all of the KJV. The angel Gabriel spoke those words to the virgin Mary as he was foretelling the birth of the Lord Jesus.

"And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women."
Luke 1:28 KJV

But what I discovered is that this phrase "highly favoured" actually comes from the Greek word. "Charitoo". Charitoo has two definitions listed and apparently this word was only translated twice in all of the KJV. The first definition, as previously mentioned is "highly favored" and was used to describe how Mary had indeed been blessed of the Lord.

However the second meaning for the word Charitoo is "make accepted". It was used only once in this definition in all of the KJV:

"To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved."
Ephesians 1:6 KJV

So, in light of the multiple definitions of the word "Charitoo", I believe it would be "acceptable" to substitute definition one into this verse and read it as such:

"To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us highly favoured in the beloved."
Ephesians 1:6 My Paraphrase


Now who was Paul writing this passage to?

"Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:
Ephesians 1:1 KJV

Not only to the saints in Ephesus, but also to those that are faithful in Christ Jesus. Paul also tells us:

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ"
Ephesians 1:3 KJV

That's just awesome to me. We have already been blessed with all spiritual blessings and they are in the spirit realm! I just love the entire book of Ephesians. Of course I love each and every word of God but Ephesians just seems to bring home the fact that we have already received all blessings, and all favour from the Lord.

I understand that there are certain sects of the Christian society that see Mary as some sort of deity. Some say that she herself lived a perfect sinless life and therefore she is to be glorified. While I do agree that she was a very special woman, even Mary needed a savior as indicated by her own words in Luke 1:47. She would have not called Him Saviour if she wasn't in fact a sinner herself.

"And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour."
Luke 1:46-47 KJV

Mary was not the only one who is "highly favoured" and blessed. So are we, the faithful followers of Christ!

That's all I have to share on that subject for the time being. I just found that to be a very interesting truth and wanted to share it here with my readers. I am blessed and highly favoured!

And as a follower of Christ my friend, so are you! Praise God!

In love,
Michael

Shaking my head. I should have put my glasse's on. thought you wrote highly flavoured. Didn't know what the heck you were talking about! lol

Highly Flavoured? Ha ha...that's pretty funny....

But actually, that too is also true. Consider this:

“Salt is good for seasoning. But if it loses its flavor, how do you make it salty again? Flavorless salt is good neither for the soil nor for the manure pile. It is thrown away. Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand!”
Luke 14:34-35 KJV

We who are the faithful followers of Christ are to be the salt of the earth. Or you could say, the highly flavored salt of the earth!

So, I guess that we do have flava after all!

"How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!"
Psalm 119:103

It's a blessing to be highly favored by God. That's where your walk lines up with God in obediance & doors open (oh those divine appointments are awesome!) out of nowhwere.

If we only knew the blessings of God we would be looking for Him more than worrying about what we think God should or will do.

Has anyone ever heard of Barbara Yoder or Dennis Cramer? If you are kicking yourself over anything Barbara brings a whole new way of looking at failure (or so called) that will springboard you right into God's will.

Dennis Cramer will help you to reach out to recieve the rain of blessings from God.

This is not hoaky...I went to the ZAPPED conference & got ZAPPED! Recharged! Invigorated by people who can lead you to victory. Problems don't go away while we live this life but it doesn't negate that we are victors in Christ.

There is much God wants to impart on His children. That is the real favor we seek.

God bless....

Hi Quickstepper! - Thanks for the comment. I have not heard of either of those two people but may look them up when I have some time. I am always open to new perspectives as long as they are scripturally sound.

Hello Susan! - My opinion is that as long as we are attached to the vine, and walking according to the Spirit, and allowing the life of Christ to flow through us then, we are by default going to be salty. Of course, as I am sure you are aware, there is a lot more to that statement than what appears on the surface.

Jesus said in John 6:63, "My words are spirit, and they are life". Walking by the spirit means walking or living according to the word and therein lies the root of our saltiness!

Being a Brit, I had a good chuckle over this.

I find it great that Jesus came from a virgin and loved and would have married a whore. This goes to show that neither one matters.

I look at it from another view. I think it means that they both matter to Him.

He loves us and gave His life for all who will have faith and accept His perfect gift, who believes He is Gods'Son, confesses that they are but a filthy rag without Him and will surrender to Him their ALL.

You can be a virgin, a whore, even a murderer if your heart is true before Him. The door is there for "all" who will enter.
God Bless You Sister !