5540. chrésis

Lexical Summary

chrésis: Use, usage, employment

Original Word: χρῆσις
Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine
Transliteration: chrésis
Pronunciation: KHRAY-sis
Phonetic Spelling: (khray'-sis)
KJV: use
NASB: function
Word Origin: [from G5530 (χράομαι - use)]

1. employment
2. (specially), sexual intercourse (as an occupation of the body)

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

use.

From chraomai; employment, i.e. (specially), sexual intercourse (as an occupation of the body) -- use.

see GREEK chraomai

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
from chraomai
Definition
use (as in a sexual sense)
NASB Translation
function (2).

Thayer's Greek Lexicon

STRONGS NT 5540: χρῆσις

χρῆσις, χρησεως, ἡ (χράομαι), use: of the sexual use of a woman, Romans 1:26f (παιδικη, Lucian, amor. 25; ὀρεξεις παρά τάς χρησεις, Plutarch, placit. philos. 5, 5; (cf. Isocrates, p. 386 c.; Plato, legg. 8, p. 841 a.; Aristotle, others)).

Topical Lexicon

Linguistic Scope and Context

The noun χρῆσις appears twice in the Greek New Testament, both in the same paragraph of Romans 1. Paul uses it to describe the way human beings employ their God-given capacities for sexual intimacy. By speaking of “natural χρῆσις” (Romans 1:26 - 27) Paul frames sexual relations as a divinely ordered stewardship rather than a self-defined pursuit. The term assumes that created functions come with purposeful design and moral boundaries.

Usage in Romans 1:26–27

Romans 1:26 – 27 forms part of Paul’s wider indictment of humanity’s suppression of revealed truth. The apostle sets forth a progression: rejection of the Creator leads to disordered worship, which in turn leads to disordered bodily practices.
• Romans 1:26: “For this reason God gave them over to dishonorable passions. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones.”
• Romans 1:27: “Likewise, the men abandoned natural relations with women and burned with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.”

Key observations:

1. χρῆσις is qualified by adjectives—φυσικὴν (natural) and τὴν παρὰ φύσιν (contrary to nature)—so the noun itself is morally neutral until placed in context.
2. Paul presents the “exchange” and “abandonment” of natural χρῆσις as evidence of divine judicial handing-over (“God gave them over”).
3. The passage treats female and male behavior in parallel, underscoring that the divine standard applies universally across gender lines.

Theological Significance

1. Creation Ordinance: By contrasting natural and unnatural χρῆσις, Paul appeals implicitly to Genesis 1 – 2, where sexual differentiation and union are blessed for procreation and covenantal unity.
2. Wrath Revealed: Disordered χρῆσις is not merely future-oriented judgment but a present manifestation of God’s wrath (Romans 1:18). The vice itself evidences spiritual alienation.
3. Redemption Needed: The surrounding context moves toward the gospel solution (Romans 3:21 – 26), implying that misuse of any created faculty calls for grace, faith, and new-creation transformation (Romans 6:12 – 14; 1 Corinthians 6:11).

Historical Interpretation

Jewish literature of Paul’s era (e.g., Wisdom of Solomon 14:24-27; Philo, On Abraham 135-136) already connected idolatry with sexual transgression. Early Christian writers—Justin Martyr (First Apology 27), Clement of Alexandria (Paedagogus 2.10), and John Chrysostom (Homilies on Romans 4)—echo Paul’s linkage of unnatural χρῆσις with a departure from Creator-creature order. Across centuries, orthodox theologians have read the term as a witness to fixed creational norms rather than cultural conventions.

Comparative Scriptural Insights

• Genesis 2:24 grounds marital sexuality in the union of male and female.
• Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13 proscribe homosexual acts within Israel’s holiness code.
• 1 Corinthians 6:13-20 portrays the body as a temple; the believer’s “use” of the body is to glorify God.
• 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5 calls believers to possess their vessels “in holiness and honor,” a positive expression of rightful χρῆσις.

Application for Ministry and Discipleship

1. Pastoral Care: Romans 1 treats misuse of sexuality as one symptom of deeper idolatry. Effective ministry therefore couples moral clarity with gospel invitation, offering hope for transformation through union with Christ.
2. Catechesis: Teaching on χρῆσις equips believers to view sexuality as vocation, governed by divine intention rather than personal preference.
3. Apologetics: The natural/unnatural distinction provides a biblical basis for engaging cultural debates on sexual ethics, anchoring arguments in creation rather than merely tradition.
4. Holiness Culture: Local churches foster holy χρῆσις by honoring marriage (Hebrews 13:4) and supporting single believers in celibate faithfulness (Matthew 19:12; 1 Corinthians 7:32-35).

Summary

Strong’s Greek 5540, χρῆσις, though rare in Scripture, carries weighty theological import. In Romans 1 it demarcates the line between honoring and dishonoring the Creator with the body. Scripture consistently portrays rightful χρῆσις as aligning with God’s design and wrongful χρῆσις as evidence of humanity’s need for redemption. Faithful teaching on this term invites believers to submit every faculty to Christ, who alone restores creation to its intended glory.

Forms and Transliterations

χρησιν χρήσιν χρῆσιν χρησμολογεί chresin chrêsin chrēsin chrē̂sin

Englishman's Concordance

Romans 1:26 N-AFS
GRK: τὴν φυσικὴν χρῆσιν εἰς τὴν
NAS: the natural function for that which is unnatural,
KJV: the natural use into
INT: the natural use into that

Romans 1:27 N-AFS
GRK: τὴν φυσικὴν χρῆσιν τῆς θηλείας
NAS: the natural function of the woman
KJV: the natural use of the woman,
INT: the natural use of the female

Strong's Greek 5540
2 Occurrences

χρῆσιν — 2 Occ.