Confess, Confession
Confess, Confession
lit., “to speak the same thing” (homos, “same,” lego, “to speak”), “to assent, accord, agree with,” denotes, (a) “to confess, declare, admit,” Joh 1:20; e.g., Act 24:14; Heb 11:13; (b) “to confess by way of admitting oneself guilty of what one is accused of, the result of inward conviction,” 1Jo 1:9; (c) “to declare openly by way of speaking out freely, such confession being the effect of deep conviction of facts,” Mat 7:23; Mat 10:32 (twice) and Luk 12:8 (see next par.); Joh 9:22; Joh 12:42; Act 23:8; Rom 10:9-10 (“confession is made”); 1Ti 6:12 (RV); Tit 1:16; 1Jo 2:23; 1Jo 4:2, 1Jo 4:15; 2Jo 1:7 (in John’s Epistle it is the necessary antithesis to Gnostic doceticism); Rev 3:5, in the best mss. (some have No. 2 here); (d) “to confess by way of celebrating with praise,” Heb 13:15; (e) “to promise,” Mat 14:7.
In Mat 10:32; Luk 12:8 the construction of this verb with en, “in,” followed by the dative case of the personal pronoun, has a special significance, namely, to “confess” in a person’s name, the nature of the “confession” being determined by the context, the suggestion being to make a public “confession.” Thus the statement, “every one … who shall confess Me (lit., “in Me,” i.e., in My case) before men, him (lit., “in him,” i.e., in his case) will I also confess before My Father …,” conveys the thought of “confessing” allegiance to Christ as one’s Master and Lord, and, on the other hand, of acknowledgment, on His part, of the faithful one as being His worshipper and servant, His loyal follower; this is appropriate to the original idea in homologeo of being identified in thought or language. See PROFESS, PROMISE, THANK.
ek, “out,” intensive, and No. 1, and accordingly stronger than No. 1, “to confess forth,” i.e., “freely, openly,” is used (a) “of a public acknowledgment or confession of sins,” Mat 3:6; Mar 1:5; Act 19:18; Jam 5:16; (b) “to profess or acknowledge openly,” Mat 11:25 (translated “thank,” but indicating the fuller idea); Phi 2:11 (some mss. have it in Rev 3:5; see No. 1); (c) “to confess by way of celebrating, giving praise,” Rom 14:11; Rom 15:9. In Luk 10:21, it is translated “I thank,” the true meaning being “I gladly acknowledge.” In Luk 22:6 it signifies to consent (RV), for AV, “promised.” See CONSENT, PROMISE, THANK.
akin to A, No. 1, denotes “confession, by acknowledgment of the truth,” 2Co 9:13; 1Ti 6:12-13; Heb 3:1; Heb 4:14; Heb 10:23 (AV, incorrectly, “profession,” except in 1Ti 6:13).
Note: For the adverb homologoumenos, confessedly, see CONTROVERSY.