Daily Devotion
Two Precious Names for God (cont'd)
Today's Bible Passage
1 Peter 2:18-25
The Authorized Version speaks of God as the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls. Nowadays, Bishop is an inadequate and misleading translation of the Greek (episkopos).
Episkopos is a word with a great history. It is used of the gods who are guardians of the treaties that men make and of the agreements to which men come, and who are the protectors of house and home.
In Plato’s LAWS the Guardians of the state. The people who Plato calls market-stewards are the episcopal who “supervise personal conduct, keeping an eye on temperate and outrageous behavior, so punish him who needs punishment.
In Athenian law and administration, the episkopoi were governors, administrators and inspectors sent out to see that law and order and loyalty were observed. In Rhodes, the main magistrates were five episkopoi who presided over the government, the law and order of the state.
To call God the episkopos of our souls is to call Him the Guardian of our souls.
In His love He cares for us; in His power He protects us; in His wisdom, He guides us in the right way.
