1772. ennomos

Lexical Summary

ennomos: Under law, lawful, legal

Original Word: ἔννομος
Part of Speech: Adjective
Transliteration: ennomos
Pronunciation: EN-no-mos
Phonetic Spelling: (en'-nom-os)
KJV: lawful, under law
NASB: lawful, under the law
Word Origin: [from G1722 (ἔν - among) and G3551 (νόμος - Law)]

1. (subjectively) legal
2. (objectively) subject to

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

lawful, under law.

From en and nomos; (subjectively) legal, or (objectively) subject to -- lawful, under law.

see GREEK en

see GREEK nomos

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
from en and nomos
Definition
legal, subject to (law)
NASB Translation
lawful (1), under the law (1).

Thayer's Greek Lexicon

STRONGS NT 1772: ἔννομος

ἔννομος, ἐννομον (νόμος);

1. bound to the law; bound by the law: Χριστῷ, or more correctly Χριστοῦ L T Tr WH, 1 Corinthians 9:21 (cf. Buttmann, § 132, 23).

2. as in Greek writings from (Pindar), Aeschylus down, lawful, regular: Acts 19:39 (on which see Lightfoot in The Contemp. Rev. for 1878, p. 295; Wood, Ephesus etc., Appendix, p. 38).

Topical Lexicon

Overview

Strong’s Greek 1772 characterizes a condition of being “within law,” whether that law is civic, Mosaic, or the gracious rule of Christ. Its rarity (two New Testament appearances) heightens its precision, drawing attention to key moments where the Holy Spirit highlights the believer’s relationship to orderly authority.

Occurrences in the New Testament

1. Acts 19:39 – the Ephesian town clerk pacifies a riot by pointing the crowd to the “lawful assembly.”
2. 1 Corinthians 9:21 – Paul, evangelizing Gentiles, insists that he is “not outside the law of God but under the law of Christ.”

Historical Setting

• Greco-Roman municipal life revolved around prescribed civic meetings (ekklēsiai). An “assembly in accordance with law” guarded citizens from mob rule and ensured Rome’s protection.
• First-century Judaism equally esteemed the Torah as the divinely authorized order for covenant life. Paul’s world was thus framed by overlapping jurisdictions—imperial, local, and Mosaic—against which he proclaims the superior, fulfil­ling reign of Christ.

Acts 19:39 – Civic Order in Ephesus

The riot in the theater threatened both public safety and imperial favor. The town clerk invokes an “assembly that accords with law” to remind the crowd that due process, not violence, secures justice. Scripture quietly commends respect for civil procedure (compare Romans 13:1-7; 1 Peter 2:13-17), demonstrating that government, though imperfect, is God’s servant for curbing chaos.

1 Corinthians 9:21 – The Law of Christ

Paul adapts to Gentile culture without abandoning divine boundaries:

“To those without the law I became like one without the law (though I am not outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) to win those without the law.” (1 Corinthians 9:21)

Key observations
• “Law of God” anchors Paul’s conduct in God’s eternal moral will.
• “Law of Christ” signifies the new-covenant embodiment of that will—love guided by the Spirit, exemplified in the cross (Galatians 6:2; John 13:34).
• Freedom in evangelism never licenses lawlessness; it is constrained by allegiance to Christ’s higher, love-fulfilled standard.

Theological Implications

1. Continuity and fulfillment: God’s moral order persists from creation through Sinai to Calvary, finding perfect expression in Jesus.
2. Dual citizenship: Believers honor civil structures (Acts 19) yet submit supremely to Christ’s authority (1 Corinthians 9).
3. Missional flexibility: Cultural adaptation is legitimate only when it remains “in-law”—that is, consonant with Christ’s commands.

Ministry Application

• Evangelism: Like Paul, missionaries negotiate cultural expectations while remaining securely inside Christ’s rule. Strategies vary; allegiance does not.
• Church governance: Congregational meetings and disciplinary processes should mirror the Ephesian principle of orderly, lawful procedure, safeguarding unity and testimony.
• Discipleship: Teach converts that grace does not abolish moral boundaries; it empowers loving obedience within the “law of Christ.”

Related Passages for Further Study

Matthew 22:21; Romans 6:14-18; Romans 13:1-7; Galatians 5:13-14; James 1:25; 1 Peter 2:13-17.

Forms and Transliterations

εννομος έννομος ἔννομος εννομω εννόμω ἐννόμῳ εννοσσεύουσα εννοσσεύσουσι ennomo ennomō ennómoi ennómōi ennomos énnomos

Englishman's Concordance

Acts 19:39 Adj-DFS
GRK: ἐν τῇ ἐννόμῳ ἐκκλησίᾳ ἐπιλυθήσεται
NAS: this, it shall be settled in the lawful assembly.
KJV: in a lawful assembly.
INT: in the lawful assembly it will be solved

1 Corinthians 9:21 Adj-NMS
GRK: θεοῦ ἀλλ' ἔννομος Χριστοῦ ἵνα
NAS: of God but under the law of Christ,
KJV: but under the law to Christ,)
INT: to God but within law to Christ that

Strong's Greek 1772
2 Occurrences

ἐννόμῳ — 1 Occ.
ἔννομος — 1 Occ.