Of Saints & Shepherds

Quick Facts

• Pronunciation: ä-pā-thā’s
• Strong’s Concordance: #G545
  • impersuasible, not compliant, disobedient, contumacious
• Appears 7 times in 7 verses in the New Testament
• Common translations:
  • “disobedience/disobedient” (10x)
  • “do/does not obey” (3x)
  • “disbelieved” (1)

How apeithēs is used in the New Testament

1. Luke 1:17 NASB – “”It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, TO TURN THE HEARTS OF THE FATHERS BACK TO THE CHILDREN, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.””

2. Acts 26:19 NASB – “”So, King Agrippa, I did not prove disobedient to the heavenly vision,”

3. Romans 1:30 NASB – “slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents,”

4. Colossians 3:6 NASB – “For it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come upon the sons of disobedience,”

5. 2 Timothy 3:2 NASB – “For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy,”

6. Titus 1:16 NASB – “They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed.”

7. Titus 3:3 NASB – “For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another.”

My observations and perspective

In each of the 7 occurrences of this word, the obvious context for the disobedience is pertaining to those who have denied God, or those who disobey parents.

In none of the the above-instances is the disobedience referring to local church leaders.