Lexical Summary mataioó: To make futile, to render vain, to lead to emptiness Original Word: ματαιόω Strong's Exhaustive Concordance become vain. From mataios; to render (passively, become) foolish, i.e. (morally) wicked or (specially), idolatrous -- become vain. see GREEK mataios HELPS Word-studies Cognate: 3154 mataióō (from 3152 /mátaios) – become aimless ("pointless"). See 3152 (mataios). NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originfrom mataios Definition to make vain, foolish NASB Translation became futile (1). Thayer's Greek Lexicon STRONGS NT 3154: ματαιόωματαιόω: (μάταιος); 1 aorist passive ἐματαιώθην; to make empty, vain, foolish: ἐματαιώθησαν ἐν τοῖς διαλογισμοῖς αὐτῶν, were brought to folly in their thoughts, i. e. fell into error, Romans 1:21. (2 Kings 17:15; Jeremiah 2:5; 1 Chronicles 21:8; (etc.); nowhere in Greek authors.) Topical Lexicon Overview Strong’s Greek 3154 describes the movement from God-given awareness to empty, self-centered thought. In Romans 1:21 it stands as a decisive verdict on humanity’s intellectual and moral collapse: “they became futile in their thinking”. The term captures the tragic exchange of God’s glory for worthless speculation, exposing the hollowness that results when truth is suppressed. Biblical Occurrence Romans 1:21 is the sole New Testament occurrence, yet the idea reverberates across Scripture. The Septuagint employs cognate forms to describe idols that “profit nothing” (Isaiah 44:9), the “vain things” pursued by Israel (Jeremiah 2:5), and the transitory nature of earthly life (Ecclesiastes 1:2). Thus Paul draws on a long biblical tradition in which vanity is the hallmark of rebellion against the Creator. Connection to Idolatry and Unbelief In Romans 1 the verb follows a three-fold pattern: 1. Revelation—“For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes…have been clearly seen” (Romans 1:20). Futility is therefore not intellectual deficiency but moral refusal. When thanksgiving ceases, thoughts grow empty; when worship shifts from Creator to creature, the mind loses coherence. Idolatry and futility are inseparable (Psalm 115:8). Contrast with Godly Wisdom Scripture offers an antithesis. Believers are called to be “renewed in the spirit of your minds” (Ephesians 4:23) and to “take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). Where unbelief breeds vanity, the gospel births wisdom “from above” that is “first pure, then peaceable” (James 3:17). The cross, foolish to the world, is in fact “the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18). Thus futility is overturned when the mind submits to divine revelation. Historical Setting of Romans 1 Paul addressed a cosmopolitan congregation in Rome familiar with the philosophical schools of Stoicism, Epicureanism, and Skepticism. While these systems could dissect nature and ethics, they left worshipers without saving knowledge. The apostle’s charge of futility echoes Old Testament prophets who mocked idols made by human hands (Psalm 135:15–18). In the Greco-Roman world, sculpted gods and speculative ideas alike stood condemned as empty before the Creator’s self-revelation. Practical Ministry Implications • Apologetics: Romans 1:21 underlines that unbelief is not merely a lack of evidence but a suppression of known truth. Evangelism must therefore call people both to intellectual honesty and heartfelt repentance. Related Terms and Themes • mataios (vain, worthless) – 1 Peter 1:18; Acts 14:15. Together these words paint a unified portrait: life detached from God’s glory deteriorates into hollowness. Patristic and Later Commentary Irenaeus saw Romans 1:21 as evidence of the fallenness of Gentile wisdom. Augustine cited the verse to explain his own pre-conversion emptiness in the face of God’s ever-present reality. Reformers such as John Calvin emphasized that futility arises when the mind “willfully forsakes the light.” Modern commentators likewise connect the verse to contemporary secularism’s search for meaning. Summary Strong’s Greek 3154 exposes the inward vacuum produced by rejecting divine revelation. Romans 1:21 shows that futile reasoning is both judgment and warning: without gratitude and worship humanity drifts into intellectual darkness. In Christ that futility is reversed, granting believers a renewed mind, enduring purpose, and the hope of glory. Forms and Transliterations εματαιώθην εματαιωθησαν εματαιώθησαν ἐματαιώθησαν ματαιούσιν ματαίως μεματαίωμαι μεματαίωταί emataiothesan emataiōthēsan emataiṓthesan emataiṓthēsanLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts |
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