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G579 · Greek · New Testament
ἀπόβλητος
Apoblētos
Adjective
To be rejected, thrown away, set aside

Definition

The Greek adjective apoblētos (from apoballō, 'to throw away') means 'to be thrown away' or 'to be rejected.' In 1 Timothy 4:4, Paul uses it in the negative — 'nothing is to be rejected' — arguing against ascetic food restrictions.

Usage & Theological Significance

Paul's use of apoblētos (negated: oudén apoblēton) in 1 Timothy 4:4 is a decisive anti-Gnostic and anti-ascetic statement: 'For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving.' God's creation is not spiritually contaminated — the Gnostic error was to treat the physical world as a second-class realm to be rejected. Against this, Paul grounds Christian freedom in thankful reception: what God made, received with gratitude and prayer, becomes sanctified for use. The corrective to apoblētos anxiety about creation is not stricter rules but deeper thanksgiving.

Key Bible Verses

1 Timothy 4:4 For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected (apoblētos) if it is received with thanksgiving.
1 Timothy 4:3 They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth.
1 Timothy 4:5 Because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.
Genesis 1:31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning — the sixth day.
Romans 14:6 Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God.

Related Words

External Resources

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