passion – Three Minute Bible

June 24, 2026June 25, 2026

1 Timothy 5:14 – Antidote

Picture of a candle flame, courtesy of Pixabay.

So I counsel younger widows to marry, to have children, to manage their homes and to give the enemy no opportunity for slander.

Summary: Life is hard. Adam and Eve’s sin left us with a genetic defect that opened our eyes to sin (Genesis 3:5). In this passage, Paul provides an antidote.

Paul’s missive to Timothy has so far ranged from passionately personal to highly technical. This section on caring for widows (1 Timothy 5:3-16) is one of the more technical aspects of his letter.

October 10, 2025October 11, 2025

Philippians 3:6a – Flipped

Picture of a gold coin marked with a cross and the words "IN GOD WE TRUST" (Grok)

… as for zeal, persecuting the church;

Summary: Paul’s zeal for persecuting the church provides a window into who Paul is and the depth of his love for God.

The keyword in this passage is “zeal,” so let’s take a closer look at what it means.

Interestingly, the Greek word for “zeal” is very similar to our English word. In Greek, the word is “zẽlos.” (Zee, I told you! 🙂 )

February 3, 2025February 3, 2025

Colossians 3:5d – Good Passion and Bad

Picture of road leading down to Dante's Inferno.

[Put to death] … lust …

Summary: How is lust different than sexual immorality? The difference is significant. As we look into the roots of the word Paul used, we find a life-saving warning.

Paul’s third category of things to put to death is represented in the NIV by the word “lust.” About half of all English translations use this word. The other half, with a few exceptions, use the word “passion.” Both are a fair translation, but some clarification is helpful here.

The word Paul uses in Greek is “páthos.” “Páthos” is a word that describes a feeling we humans sometimes have. It is correctly translated as “passion,” but it is a very specific kind of passion.