2633. katakrisis

Lexical Summary

katakrisis: Condemnation

Original Word: κατάκρισις
Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine
Transliteration: katakrisis
Pronunciation: kä-tä'-krē-sēs
Phonetic Spelling: (kat-ak'-ree-sis)
KJV: condemn(-ation)
NASB: condemn, condemnation
Word Origin: [from G2632 (κατακρίνω - condemn)]

1. sentencing adversely (the act)

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

condemnation.

From katakrino; sentencing adversely (the act) -- condemn(-ation).

see GREEK katakrino

HELPS Word-studies

Cognate: 2633 katákrisis (from 2632 /katakrínō, see there) – the sentence of condemnation handed down after someone is found decidedly guilty.

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
from katakrinó
Definition
condemnation
NASB Translation
condemn (1), condemnation (1).

Thayer's Greek Lexicon

STRONGS NT 2633: κατάκρισις

κατάκρισις, κατακρίσεως, ἡ (κατακρίνω), condemnation: 2 Corinthians 3:9 (see δικονια, 2 a.); πρός κατάκρισιν, in order to condemn, 2 Corinthians 7:3. (Not found in secular authors.)

Topical Lexicon

Conceptual Overview

The noun κατάκρισις (Strong’s 2633) denotes a judicial verdict that formally places a person or matter under condemnation. While the larger New Testament vocabulary often speaks of κρίνω (to judge) or κατάκρισμα (condemnatory sentence, Romans 5:16, 5:18), κατάκρισις highlights the authoritative act of declaring guilt. The term is not a mood or feeling but an official pronouncement that fixes liability and exposes the condemned party to penalty.

Occurrences in Scripture

1. 2 Corinthians 3:9 – Paul contrasts “the ministry of condemnation” (κατακρίσεως) mediated by the Mosaic Law with the “ministry of righteousness.”
2. 2 Corinthians 7:3 – Paul reassures the Corinthian believers, “I do not say this to condemn you” (κατάκρισιν), underscoring pastoral affection rather than judicial severity.

Theological Themes

Ministry of Condemnation versus Ministry of Righteousness
• In 2 Corinthians 3:9 the apostle acknowledges the Law’s divine glory while insisting that its function was condemnation—revealing sin and issuing a verdict of guilt (Romans 3:20).
• The New Covenant eclipses that ministry by supplying righteousness in Christ: “so much more glorious is the ministry of righteousness” (2 Corinthians 3:9). The greatness of grace is accentuated by the backdrop of condemnation.

Relational Restoration in Apostolic Ministry
• In 2 Corinthians 7:3 Paul’s refusal to exercise κατάκρισις models the restorative spirit of New Covenant leadership. He invokes their shared life and death—an intimate covenantal bond that replaces judicial accusation with familial solidarity (Galatians 6:1).

Freedom from Condemnation
• Although Romans 8:1 employs the cognate κατάκριμα, the theological continuity is evident: believers are released from every condemning sentence because Christ has borne the verdict (Isaiah 53:6; 2 Corinthians 5:21).
• Divine justice is satisfied at the cross; therefore any lingering sense of κατάκρισις in the conscience is answered by the finished work of Jesus Christ (Hebrews 9:14).

Old Covenant versus New Covenant

The Law inscribed on stone tablets delivered a rightful sentence of condemnation, reflecting God’s holiness and unbending justice. The Spirit-written law on hearts (2 Corinthians 3:3) displaces condemnation with internal empowerment for righteousness, fulfilling the prophetic anticipation of Jeremiah 31:33. Paul’s terminology rebukes any return to legalistic performance as a means of acceptance; to seek justification by law is to step back under κατάκρισις (Galatians 3:10).

Pastoral and Personal Application

• Preaching: Gospel proclamation must articulate the reality of God’s condemning verdict against sin in order to magnify grace.
• Counseling: Shepherds imitate Paul’s pattern in 2 Corinthians 7:3 by refusing to wield condemnation as a manipulative tool. Corrective discipline is administered in hopes of repentance, never as a final sentence.
• Assurance: Believers combat the accuser’s voice (Revelation 12:10) by resting in the judicial finality of the cross—“For God was pleased… having canceled the record of debt… He has taken it away, nailing it to the cross” (Colossians 2:13–14).

Historical Usage in Early Church

Patristic writers employed κατάκρισις when discussing the divine judgment upon Adam and the human race, often contrasting it with the righteousness imparted through baptism and faith. Chrysostom on 2 Corinthians 3 noted that the ministry bringing condemnation was itself glorious, thereby accentuating the superlative glory of Spirit-mediated righteousness.

Intertextual Connections

• Daniel 7:22 depicts judgment in favor of the saints, a reversal of κατάκρισις through divine intervention.
• John 3:18 presents κρίσις (judgment) contingent upon faith in the Son, resonating with Paul’s announcement that believers no longer stand under a condemning decree.

Implications for Ministry and Discipleship

The church is entrusted with the message that the courtroom verdict of condemnation has been replaced by justification for all who are in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:19–21). Disciples therefore live not under threat but in transformational grace, becoming ministers of reconciliation rather than agents of judicial sentence.

Summary

Κατάκρισις (Strong’s 2633) surfaces only twice in the New Testament, yet it frames a critical redemptive contrast: the Law’s glorious but condemning verdict versus the Spirit’s more glorious ministry of righteousness. Paul’s pastoral use of the term safeguards the Corinthian believers from despair and models gospel-centered leadership. For the church today, the absence of κατάκρισις in Christ establishes assurance, shapes preaching, and fuels a ministry marked by grace rather than judgment.

Forms and Transliterations

κατακεκρυμμένος κατακρισεως κατακρίσεως κατακρισιν κατάκρισιν κατακρύβηθι κατακρυβήναι κατακρύψαι κατακρύψεις κατάκρυψον κατακρύψουσιν κατακτήσασθαι κατακυλισθησόμεθα κατακυλίω κατεκρύβησαν κατέκρυψαν κατέκρυψας κατέκρυψεν κατεκύκλωσαν κατέκυψαν katakriseos katakriseōs katakríseos katakríseōs katakrisin katákrisin

Englishman's Concordance

2 Corinthians 3:9 N-GFS
GRK: διακονία τῆς κατακρίσεως δόξα πολλῷ
NAS: the ministry of condemnation has glory,
KJV: the ministration of condemnation [be] glory,
INT: ministry of condemnation [be] glory much

2 Corinthians 7:3 N-AFS
GRK: πρὸς κατάκρισιν οὐ λέγω
NAS: I do not speak to condemn you, for I have said before
KJV: [this] to condemn [you]: for
INT: for condemnation not I speak

Strong's Greek 2633
2 Occurrences

κατακρίσεως — 1 Occ.
κατάκρισιν — 1 Occ.