Lawful, Lawfully
Lawful, Lawfully
an impersonal verb, signifying “it is permitted, it is lawful” (or interrogatively, “is it lawful?”), occurs most frequently in the synoptic Gospels and the Acts; elsewhere in Joh 5:10; Joh 18:31; 1Co 6:12; 1Co 10:23; 2Co 12:4; in Act 2:29, it is rendered “let me (speak),” lit., “it being permitted;” in the AV of Act 8:37, “thou mayest,” lit., “it is permitted;” Act 16:21; in Act 21:37, “may I,” lit., “is it permitted?” See LET, MAY.
Note: For ennomos, see C, No. 2, (under LAW).
“lawfully,” is used in 1Ti 1:8, “the Law is good, if a man use it lawfully,” i.e., agreeably to its design; the meaning here is that, while no one can be justified or obtain eternal life through its instrumentality, the believer is to have it in his heart and to fulfill its requirements; walking “not after the flesh but after the spirit,” Rom 8:4, he will “use it lawfully.” In 2Ti 2:5 it is used of contending in the games and adhering to the rules.