The Greek adverb pantōs (πάντως) means entirely, certainly, at all events, or by all means. Derived from pas (all), it expresses completeness or certainty. Paul uses it with varying nuances — sometimes for absolute certainty, sometimes as a concessive ('at all'), and in 1 Corinthians 9:22 as a motivated commitment: 'by all means save some.'
In 1 Corinthians 9:22, Paul's use of pantōs — 'I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some' — reveals a missionary theology of contextual flexibility in service of the gospel. The apostle's cultural adaptability is not compromise of the message but commitment to its maximum reach. In Luke 4:23, the crowd's expectation — 'Surely you will do here what we heard you did in Capernaum' — uses pantōs to express their certainty. Paul's declaration in Romans 3:9 ('we have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin') uses the same logic of comprehensive judgment.