Weakened
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In the biblical context, the concept of being "weakened" often refers to a reduction in strength, power, or resolve, whether physically, spiritually, or morally. This theme is prevalent throughout Scripture, illustrating the human condition and the need for divine intervention and strength.

Physical Weakness

Physical weakness is a common human experience depicted in the Bible. The frailty of the human body is acknowledged, and reliance on God's strength is emphasized. In Isaiah 40:29, it is written, "He gives power to the faint and increases the strength of the weak." This verse highlights God's provision for those who are physically weakened, offering them strength and endurance.

The Apostle Paul also speaks of physical weakness in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, where he recounts the Lord's words to him: "My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness." Paul concludes, "Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest on me." Here, physical weakness becomes an opportunity for God's power to be displayed.

Spiritual Weakness

Spiritual weakness is another significant theme in the Bible. It often refers to a lack of faith, resolve, or moral strength. Jesus addresses spiritual weakness in His disciples in Matthew 26:41, saying, "Watch and pray so that you will not enter into temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak." This admonition underscores the need for vigilance and prayer to overcome spiritual frailty.

The Apostle Paul, in Romans 8:26, reassures believers of the Holy Spirit's role in aiding their spiritual weakness: "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans too deep for words." This passage emphasizes the Spirit's intercession and support in times of spiritual need.

Moral Weakness

Moral weakness, or the propensity to sin, is a condition that affects all humanity. The Bible acknowledges this weakness and the need for divine grace and redemption. In Romans 5:6, Paul writes, "For at just the right time, while we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly." This verse highlights humanity's moral weakness and the redemptive work of Christ as the solution.

The struggle against moral weakness is also evident in Paul's personal reflection in Romans 7:18-19: "For I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do; instead, I keep on doing the evil I do not want to do." This passage illustrates the internal battle against sin and the need for reliance on God's grace.

Divine Strength in Weakness

Throughout Scripture, the theme of divine strength in human weakness is prevalent. God's power is often made perfect in the weakness of His people, demonstrating His sovereignty and grace. In 1 Corinthians 1:27, Paul writes, "But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong." This verse underscores the paradox of God's kingdom, where human weakness becomes a vessel for divine strength and wisdom.

The biblical narrative consistently points to the sufficiency of God's grace and strength in the face of human weakness, encouraging believers to rely on Him in all circumstances.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
(imp. & p. p.) of Weaken.
Greek
3379. mepote -- never, lest ever
... mepote Phonetic Spelling: (may'-pot-eh) Short Definition: lest at any time, lest,
perhaps Definition: lest at any time, lest; then weakened: whether perhaps ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/3379.htm - 6k

645. apospao -- to draw off, draw away
... I wrench away from, drag away, withdraw Definition: lit: I wrench away from, drag
away, but perhaps sometimes in the well-attested weakened sense: I am parted ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/645.htm - 6k

Strong's Hebrew
6031a. anah -- to be bowed down or afflicted
... mistreat (1), oppressed (1), oppressors (1), ravish (1), ravished (2), silenced
(1), submit (1), treated her harshly (1), violate (1), violated (5), weakened (1 ...
/hebrew/6031a.htm - 5k

2522. chalash -- to be weak or prostrate
... Word Origin a prim. root Definition to be weak or prostrate NASB Word Usage lies
prostrate (1), overwhelmed (1), weakened (1). discomfit, waste away, weaken. ...
/hebrew/2522.htm - 6k

Library

Pelagius Denies that Human Nature Has Been Depraved or Corrupted ...
... that he ever said these things: "We have," he says, "first of all to discuss the
position which is maintained, that our nature has been weakened and changed by ...
/.../augustine/anti-pelagian writings/chapter 21 xix pelagius denies that.htm

Extracts No. Iii.
... founded on mere conjecture or imperfect reasoning, yet the first principles still
remain, and the former evidences, instead of being weakened, are increased by ...
/.../ballou/a series of letters in defence of divine revelation/extracts no iii.htm

Whether Anger Above all Causes Fervor in the Heart?
... by time. Now it is evident that memory is weakened by time; for things
which happened long ago easily slip from our memory. But ...
/.../aquinas/summa theologica/whether anger above all causes.htm

Psalm IX.
... 5. "They will be weakened, and perish from Thy face" (ver.3). Who will
be weakened and perish, but the unrighteous and ungodly? ...
/...//christianbookshelf.org/augustine/exposition on the book of psalms/psalm ix.htm

The Holy Spirit in the Mystery of the Incarnation.
... Facts and history prove even now that the human body has weakened since the days
of the Reformation; that bad habits of a certain character sometimes pass from ...
/.../kuyper/the work of the holy spirit/xix the holy spirit in.htm

How the Soul Grows Cold in Holy Love.
... So charity is sometimes weakened and depressed in the affections till it seems to
be scarcely in exercise at all, and yet it remains entire in the supreme ...
/.../francis/treatise on the love of god/chapter ii how the soul.htm

For -- that You May Learn what are Our Sentiments and Opinions ...
... and the maxims and declarations of wise men state distinctly, that those who are
touched by passion live a life of suffering, [4569] and are weakened by grief ...
/.../arnobius/the seven books of arnobius against the heathen/2 for that you.htm

The Definition of Blessedness as Drawn from the Scriptures is ...
... is considered and proved. It cannot be enhanced by external good fortune,
nor can it be weakened by misfortune. 8. As, then, knowledge ...
/.../ambrose/works and letters of st ambrose/chapter iii the definition of.htm

The New Testament is More Ancient than the Old; but it was ...
... Here, certainly, if we ask whether this testament, which, he says, being confirmed
by God was not weakened by the law, which was made four hundred and thirty ...
/.../augustine/anti-pelagian writings/chapter 7 the new testament is.htm

A Treatise on Nature and Grace, against Pelagius;
... other things especially, in his desire to recommend the opinion that a man can live
without sin, he contended that nature had not been weakened and changed by ...
/.../augustine/anti-pelagian writings/a treatise on nature and 2.htm

Thesaurus
Weakened (7 Occurrences)
...Weakened (7 Occurrences). ... Nehemiah 6:9 For they all would have made us afraid, saying,
Their hands shall be weakened from the work, that it not be done. ...
/w/weakened.htm - 8k

Weaken (5 Occurrences)
... 3. (vi) To become weak or weaker; to lose strength, spirit, or determination; to
become less positive or resolute; as, the patient weakened; the witness ...
/w/weaken.htm - 8k

Discouraged (19 Occurrences)
... Ezra 4:4 Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah,
and troubled them in building, (See NAS RSV). Nehemiah ...
/d/discouraged.htm - 12k

Sick (117 Occurrences)
... 3. (superl.) Having a strong dislike; disgusted; surfeited; -- with of; as, to be
sick of flattery. 4. (superl.) Corrupted; imperfect; impaired; weakened. ...
/s/sick.htm - 44k

Weak (102 Occurrences)
... Romans 4:19 Without being weakened in faith, he didn't consider his own body, already
having been worn out, (he being about a hundred years old), and the ...
/w/weak.htm - 38k

Likeness (52 Occurrences)
... Old Testament passages). The other use of "like" belongs also to modern
English, although in a much weakened sense. On account of ...
/l/likeness.htm - 29k

Liking (2 Occurrences)
... Old Testament passages). The other use of "like" belongs also to modern
English, although in a much weakened sense. On account of ...
/l/liking.htm - 14k

Liken (12 Occurrences)
... Old Testament passages). The other use of "like" belongs also to modern
English, although in a much weakened sense. On account of ...
/l/liken.htm - 16k

Look (1874 Occurrences)
... On the other hand, "look on" may be weakened, as in such phrases as "fair to look
unon" (Genesis 12:11 etc.), where it means only "fair to the sight." Or as in ...
/l/look.htm - 12k

Worn (29 Occurrences)
... Romans 4:19 Without being weakened in faith, he didn't consider his own body, already
having been worn out, (he being about a hundred years old), and the ...
/w/worn.htm - 14k

Resources
What is the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME)? | GotQuestions.org

What does it mean that Jesus came in the likeness of sinful flesh? | GotQuestions.org

Medical marijuana - what does the Bible say? | GotQuestions.org

Weakened: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.com

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Concordance
Weakened (7 Occurrences)

Romans 4:19
Without being weakened in faith, he didn't consider his own body, already having been worn out, (he being about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah's womb.
(WEB ASV)

Romans 8:3
for what the law was not able to do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God, His own Son having sent in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, did condemn the sin in the flesh,
(See RSV NIV)

Ezra 4:4
Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and troubled them in building,
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS)

Nehemiah 6:9
For they all would have made us afraid, saying, Their hands shall be weakened from the work, that it not be done. But now, God, strengthen my hands.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV WBS)

Job 18:7
The steps of his strength shall be shortened. His own counsel shall cast him down.
(See NIV)

Psalms 102:23
He weakened my strength along the course. He shortened my days.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS NAS)

Isaiah 14:12
How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
(See NAS)

Subtopics

Weakened

Related Terms

Weakened (7 Occurrences)

Weakeneth (4 Occurrences)

Weaken
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