Do Paul and Jesus Use the Same Greek Vocabulary? (pvj-04)¶
Study Question¶
Do Paul and Jesus use the same Greek vocabulary for key theological concepts? Use word studies on: nomos/law (G3551), pistis/faith (G4102), dikaiosyne/righteousness (G1343), ergon/work (G2041), charis/grace (G5485), entole/commandment (G1785), agape/love (G26). For each word: (a) how does Jesus use it in the Gospels, (b) how does Paul use it in his epistles, (c) do they use it with the same semantic range or different meanings? This is the vocabulary baseline for all later contradiction studies. If Paul and Jesus use the same word to mean different things, that changes whether a "contradiction" is real or merely verbal.
Methodology¶
This study follows the investigative methodology defined in
D:/bible/bible-studies/pvj-series-methodology.md.
Evidence items registered in D:/bible/bible-studies/pvj-evidence.db.
This is a foundational study (Phase 1 of the pvj series). concept_context.py --scope author was run on key verses from both Paul and the Gospels: Rom 3:28, Rom 3:21, Eph 2:8, Rom 13:9, Rom 13:10 (Paul), and Mat 5:17, Mat 17:20, Mat 5:20, Mat 22:37 (Jesus/Gospels).
Summary Answer¶
Paul and Jesus share the same core referent for all 7 Greek words studied, but Paul's semantic range is a proper superset of Jesus's for 5 of the 7 words (nomos, pistis, dikaiosyne, ergon, charis). Paul uses every sense Jesus uses plus additional forensic/soteriological senses that Jesus does not employ. The two words with the closest semantic alignment are agape (G26), where both authors use the word identically, and entole (G1785), where both affirm commandment-keeping. The widest vocabulary gap is charis (G5485), which Paul uses 100+ times in a soteriological sense entirely absent from Jesus's direct speech, though Jesus teaches the underlying concept through parables and actions.
Key Verses¶
Matthew 5:17 -- "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil."
Matthew 5:20 -- "For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven."
Matthew 19:17 -- "...but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments."
Matthew 22:37-40 -- "Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."
Matthew 23:23 -- "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone."
Romans 3:28 -- "Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law."
Romans 3:31 -- "Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law."
Romans 7:12 -- "Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good."
Romans 13:10 -- "Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law."
Ephesians 2:8-10 -- "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."
1 Corinthians 7:19 -- "Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God."
Galatians 5:6 -- "For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love."
Evidence Classification¶
Evidence items tracked in D:/bible/bible-studies/pvj-evidence.db.
1. Explicit Statements Table¶
Each E-item has been processed through Tree 1 (Tier Classification) and Tree 3 (E-Item Positional Classification).
Also-cited prior items (already in master evidence DB, cited again by this study):
None. This is the first study to address these vocabulary items.
New items (added to master evidence DB by this study):
| # | Explicit Statement | Reference | Position | Master ID |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| E1 | Jesus states "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil." Uses nomos (G3551) for the Torah as authoritative divine instruction. | Mat 5:17 | Neutral | E030 |
| E2 | Jesus states "Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." Uses nomos (G3551) for the Torah's permanent validity. | Mat 5:18 | Neutral | E031 |
| E3 | Paul states "Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law." Uses nomos (G3551), pistis (G4102), and ergon (G2041) together in a justification context. | Rom 3:28 | Neutral | E032 |
| E4 | Paul states "Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law." Paul affirms the law is established, not voided, by faith. | Rom 3:31 | Neutral | E033 |
| E5 | Paul states "the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good." Uses nomos (G3551) and entole (G1785) with the same positive valuation Jesus applies to the law. | Rom 7:12 | Neutral | E034 |
| E6 | Jesus states "thy faith hath made thee whole." Uses pistis (G4102) for personal trust in God's healing power. | Mat 9:22 | Neutral | E035 |
| E7 | Paul states "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works." Uses charis (G5485), pistis (G4102), and ergon (G2041) in a soteriological context. | Eph 2:8-9 | Neutral | E036 |
| E8 | Jesus states "except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven." Uses dikaiosyne (G1343) as an ethical quality that can be exceeded. | Mat 5:20 | Neutral | E037 |
| E9 | Paul states "the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ." Uses dikaiosyne (G1343) as God's saving action received by faith. | Rom 3:21-22 | Neutral | E038 |
| E10 | Jesus states "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works." Uses ergon (G2041) positively for visible deeds reflecting character. | Mat 5:16 | Neutral | E039 |
| E11 | Paul states "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." Uses ergon (G2041) positively for expected fruit of grace. | Eph 2:10 | Neutral | E040 |
| E12 | Jesus states "if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments." Uses entole (G1785) for God's commands to be obeyed. | Mat 19:17 | Neutral | E041 |
| E13 | Paul states "Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God." Uses entole (G1785) for God's commandments to be kept. | 1 Cor 7:19 | Neutral | E042 |
| E14 | Paul states "love is the fulfilling of the law" (Rom 13:10). Jesus states "On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets" (Mat 22:40). Both connect agape/love with law-fulfillment using nomos (G3551). | Rom 13:10; Mat 22:40 | Harmony | E043 |
| E15 | Jesus uses charis (G5485) in Luke 6:32-34 meaning "credit" or "thanks." He does not use charis in the soteriological sense of "God's unmerited saving favor." | Luk 6:32-34 | Neutral | E044 |
| E16 | Paul states "Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." Uses charis (G5485) as God's unmerited favor that justifies -- a usage absent from Jesus's direct speech. | Rom 3:24 | Neutral | E045 |
| E17 | Jesus states "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another" (Jhn 13:34) and "If ye love me, keep my commandments" (Jhn 14:15). Uses entole (G1785) for both God's commands and his own, linking commandment-keeping with love. | Jhn 13:34; 14:15 | Neutral | E046 |
| E18 | Jesus lists "judgment, mercy, and faith" as "the weightier matters of the law" (Mat 23:23). Uses pistis (G4102) as faithfulness/fidelity -- an ethical quality, one of the "weightier" Torah obligations. | Mat 23:23 | Neutral | E047 |
2. Necessary Implications Table¶
| # | Necessary Implication | Based on | Why it is unavoidable | Position | Master ID |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N1 | Both Jesus and Paul use agape (G26) with the same semantic range: God's love, self-sacrificial love, mutual love among believers, and love as the central ethical demand connected with commandment-keeping. | E14, E17, and complete agape distribution | Both authors employ agape for the same referents (God's love, mutual love, self-sacrifice), connect it with commandment-keeping (Jhn 14:15; Rom 13:8-10), and treat it as the central ethical demand. No reader examining the texts could deny this overlap. | Neutral | N006 |
| N2 | Paul's semantic range for nomos, pistis, dikaiosyne, ergon, and charis is a proper superset of Jesus's -- Paul uses all senses Jesus uses plus additional forensic/soteriological senses. | E1-E9, E15-E16, and complete word distribution data | For each of these 5 words, every meaning Jesus employs is also employed by Paul, but Paul adds meanings Jesus does not use. This is a distributional fact verifiable from the text. | Neutral | N007 |
| N3 | Both Jesus and Paul affirm commandment-keeping. Jesus says "keep the commandments" (Mat 19:17); Paul says "the keeping of the commandments of God" (1 Cor 7:19). Both use entole (G1785) for God's commands with the same injunction. | E12, E13 | Both authors use the same word (entole) for the same referent (God's commands) with the same directive (keep them). This convergence is a textual fact. | Harmony | N008 |
3. Inferences Table¶
| # | Claim | Type | What the Bible actually says | Why this is an inference | Criteria | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I1 | Paul and Jesus use the same 7 key Greek words with overlapping semantic ranges, and Paul's superset pattern indicates he extends rather than contradicts Jesus's vocabulary. | I-A | E1-E18 show both authors using the same words; N2 shows Paul's range is a superset. Mat 5:17 affirms the law; Rom 3:31 establishes the law. Mat 19:17 says keep commandments; 1 Cor 7:19 says keep commandments. | This systematizes multiple individual word-study findings into a claim about Paul's overall relationship to Jesus's vocabulary. The text does not state "Paul extends Jesus's vocabulary" -- this conclusion requires combining all 7 word studies. | #5 (systematizing) | Harmony |
| I2 | Paul's expanded semantic range introduces theological concepts (forensic righteousness, faith as justification instrument) absent from Jesus's vocabulary, which could indicate Paul imports ideas Jesus did not teach. | I-A | E3 (Rom 3:28) uses pistis for justification; E8 (Mat 5:20) uses dikaiosyne for ethical conduct; E9 (Rom 3:21-22) uses dikaiosyne for God's saving action. Jesus's vocabulary does not contain these specific senses. | This systematizes the observation that Paul's additional senses are absent from Jesus into a claim about the theological significance of the absence. The text does not state whether Paul's additional meanings are "imported" or "developed." | #5 (systematizing) | Contradiction |
| I3 | Jesus does not use charis in Paul's soteriological sense, but he teaches the concept of unmerited divine favor through parables (Prodigal Son, Laborers in the Vineyard, Pharisee and Publican), meaning the concept is present without the technical term. | I-A | E15 (Luk 6:32-34) shows Jesus uses charis as "credit/thanks." E16 (Rom 3:24) shows Paul uses charis as saving grace. Jesus's parables (Luk 15:11-32 -- prodigal welcomed without merit; Mat 20:1-16 -- equal pay for unequal work; Luk 18:10-14 -- publican "went down justified") describe unmerited favor without using the word charis. | This requires identifying the conceptual content of Jesus's parables as equivalent to Paul's charis doctrine. The text does not state "these parables teach the same thing as Pauline grace." The connection is supplied by the reader's judgment that the concepts match. | #5 (systematizing) | Neutral |
Tally Summary¶
- Explicit statements: 18 (1 Harmony, 0 Contradiction, 17 Neutral)
- Necessary implications: 3 (1 Harmony, 0 Contradiction, 2 Neutral)
- Inferences: 3
- I-A (Evidence-Extending): 3 (1 Harmony, 1 Contradiction, 1 Neutral)
- I-B (Competing-Evidence): 0
- I-C (Compatible External): 0
- I-D (Counter-Evidence External): 0
Positional Tally (This Study)¶
| Tier | Harmony | Contradiction | Neutral | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Explicit (E) | 1 | 0 | 17 | 18 |
| Necessary Implication (N) | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| I-A | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| I-B | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| I-C | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| I-D | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| TOTAL | 3 | 1 | 20 | 24 |
What CAN Be Said¶
Scripture explicitly states or necessarily implies: - Scripture explicitly states that Jesus uses nomos (G3551) for the Torah as permanent authoritative instruction (Mat 5:17-18). - Scripture explicitly states that Paul uses nomos (G3551) both positively ("holy, just, good" Rom 7:12; "we establish the law" Rom 3:31) and in relation to justification ("by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified" Rom 3:20). - Scripture explicitly states that both Jesus and Paul connect love with law-fulfillment: "On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets" (Mat 22:40); "love is the fulfilling of the law" (Rom 13:10). - Scripture explicitly states that both Jesus and Paul affirm commandment-keeping using entole (G1785): "keep the commandments" (Mat 19:17); "the keeping of the commandments of God" (1 Cor 7:19). - Scripture explicitly states that Jesus uses pistis (G4102) primarily for personal trust/healing ("thy faith hath made thee whole" Mat 9:22) and for faithfulness as an ethical virtue ("the weightier matters of the law... faith" Mat 23:23). - Scripture explicitly states that Paul uses pistis (G4102) primarily for the instrument of justification ("justified by faith" Rom 3:28; "by grace through faith" Eph 2:8). - Scripture explicitly states that Jesus uses dikaiosyne (G1343) for ethical conduct to be pursued and exceeded (Mat 5:6,20; 6:33). - Scripture explicitly states that Paul uses dikaiosyne (G1343) both for ethical conduct (1 Tim 6:11) and for God's saving action received by faith (Rom 3:21-22). - Scripture necessarily implies that agape (G26) carries the same semantic range in both authors (both use it for God's love, mutual love, self-sacrifice, and connect it with commandment-keeping). - Scripture necessarily implies that Paul's semantic range for 5 key words (nomos, pistis, dikaiosyne, ergon, charis) is a proper superset of Jesus's range for the same words.
What CANNOT Be Said¶
Not explicitly stated or necessarily implied by Scripture: - It cannot be said from the text alone that Paul's expanded semantic range constitutes a contradiction of Jesus -- this requires interpreting the theological significance of vocabulary expansion, which is an inference. - It cannot be said from the text alone that Paul's expanded semantic range is merely a natural development from Jesus -- this also requires interpretation beyond what any single text states. - It cannot be said that Jesus's non-use of charis in a soteriological sense means he lacked the concept of unmerited divine favor -- the absence of a word does not prove the absence of the concept. - It cannot be said that Jesus's non-use of charis in a soteriological sense means he endorsed the concept -- vocabulary absence is ambiguous. - It cannot be said that Paul's phrase "works of the law" (erga nomou) refers to the same thing as Jesus's entole (commandments) -- whether these terms overlap in scope is a question of interpretation, not explicit statement. - It cannot be said that the semantic-range overlap proves Paul "learned from" Jesus or that the divergence proves he "departed from" Jesus -- both claims require connecting vocabulary data to historical-biographical claims the text does not make in these passages.
Conclusion¶
This foundational vocabulary study classified 18 explicit statements, 3 necessary implications, and 3 inferences. The evidence is overwhelmingly Neutral (20 of 24 items), reflecting the nature of a vocabulary baseline study: the primary findings are distributional facts about how each author uses each word.
The 1 Harmony-classified explicit statement (E14/E043) documents that both Paul and Jesus explicitly connect love with law-fulfillment using the same vocabulary (agape, nomos). The 1 Harmony-classified necessary implication (N3/N008) documents that both authors use entole with the same referent and directive. The 1 Harmony-classified inference (I1/I012) systematizes the superset pattern as evidence of vocabulary continuity.
The 1 Contradiction-classified inference (I2/I013) systematizes the observation that Paul's expanded meanings (forensic dikaiosyne, soteriological pistis) are absent from Jesus's vocabulary as a possible indicator that Paul introduces concepts Jesus did not teach.
No I-B items were generated because this study addresses vocabulary distribution rather than competing textual claims. The vocabulary data itself is factual and both positions accept it; the interpretive question is what the vocabulary differences mean for the question of contradiction vs. harmony.
For subsequent pvj-series studies: when Paul uses nomos, pistis, dikaiosyne, ergon, or charis in senses Jesus does not employ, alleged contradictions must account for the semantic-range difference. A claim that "Paul contradicts Jesus on X" must demonstrate they are using the relevant word with the same meaning, not merely that they use the same word. Conversely, a claim that "Paul agrees with Jesus on X" must demonstrate they mean the same thing by the word, not merely that they both use it.
Study completed: 2026-03-03 Evidence items registered in D:/bible/bible-studies/pvj-evidence.db