Lexical Summary analogia: Proportion, analogy Original Word: ἀναλογία Strong's Exhaustive Concordance proportion. From a compound of ana and logos; proportion -- proportion. see GREEK ana see GREEK logos HELPS Word-studies 356 analogía (from 303 /aná, "up, completing a process" and 3056 /lógos, "reasoning, word") – properly, analogous reasoning, moving from one point of a comparison (up) to the other. [The English word, "analogy," is derived from this term.] NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originfrom ana and logos Definition proportion NASB Translation proportion (1). Thayer's Greek Lexicon STRONGS NT 356: ἀναλογίαἀναλογία, ἀναλογιας, ἡ (ἀνάλογος conformable, proportional), proportion: κατά τήν ἀναλογίαν τῆς πίστεως, equivalent to κατά τό μέτρον πίστεως received from God, Romans 12:6, cf. 3. (Plato, Demosthenes, Aristotle, Theophrastus, others.) Topical Lexicon Lexical Scope and Primary Sense While ἀναλογία carries the idea of “proportion” or “proper measure,” Scripture employs the term just once, granting the single usage a weighty interpretive focus. Scriptural Setting: Romans 12:6 “Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith” (Romans 12:6). Paul sets “proportion” in the context of spiritual gifts. The verse follows the exhortation to present the body as “a living sacrifice” (Romans 12:1) and to avoid conformity to the world (Romans 12:2). Within that renewed mindset, each believer is to minister without envy or pride, recognizing both the diversity and the measured harmony of the Spirit’s distribution of gifts. Theological Implications 1. Harmony within Diversity: ἀναλογία underscores that the Spirit never grants gifts in a haphazard fashion. Every charisma fits a divine design so that the body of Christ functions as an integrated whole (1 Corinthians 12:4–7). Historical Interpretation • Early Church: Writers such as Irenaeus employed ἀναλογία to combat heresy, insisting that every interpretation conform to “the rule of faith.” Practical Ministry Applications 1. Gift Deployment: Teachers, leaders, and servants should discern the Spirit’s “measure” for their ministry and refuse comparisons that breed discontent (Galatians 6:4–5). Pastoral Encouragement Believers may rest in God’s wise distribution of grace-gifts. Working “in proportion” to faith frees the church from rivalry and releases each member to contribute precisely what the Master designed, “so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 4:11). Forms and Transliterations αναλογιαν αναλογίαν ἀναλογίαν analogian analogíanLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts |
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