Confess, Confession

1. homologeo
2. exomologeo

1. homologia

homologeo lit., "to speak the same thing" (homos, "same," lego, "to speak"), "to assent, accord, agree with," denotes,
(a) "to confess, declare, admit," John_1:20; e.g., Acts_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," 1_John_1:9;
(c) "to declare openly by way of speaking out freely, such confession being the effect of deep conviction of facts," Matt_7:23; Matt_10:32 (twice) and Luke_12:8 (see next par.); John_9:22; John_12:42; Acts_23:8; Rom_10:9,10 ("confession is made"); 1_Tim_6:12 (RV); Titus_1:16; 1_John_2:23; 1_John_4:2,15; 2_John_1:7 (in John's Epistle it is the necessary antithesis to Gnostic doceticism); Rev_3:5, in the best mss. (some have exomologeo here);
(d) "to confess by way of celebrating with praise," Heb_13:15;
(e) "to promise," Matt_14:7.

In Matt_10:32; Luke_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.

See also : homologeo in other topics

exomologeo ek, "out," intensive, and homologeo, and accordingly stronger than homologeo, "to confess forth," i.e., "freely, openly," is used
(a) "of a public acknowledgment or confession of sins," Matt_3:6; Mark_1:5; Acts_19:18; James_5:16;
(b) "to profess or acknowledge openly," Matt_11:25 (translated "thank," but indicating the fuller idea); Php_2:11 (some mss. have it in Rev_3:5: see homologeo);
(c) "to confess by way of celebrating, giving praise," Rom_14:11; Rom_15:9. In Luke_10:21, it is translated "I thank," the true meaning being "I gladly acknowledge." In Luke_22:6 it signifies to consent (RV), for AV, "promised." See CONSENT, PROMISE, THANK.

See also : exomologeo in other topics

homologia akin to homologeo, denotes "confession, by acknowledgment of the truth," 2_Cor_9:13; 1_Tim_6:12,13; Heb_3:1; Heb_4:14; Heb_10:23 (AV, incorrectly, "profession," except in 1_Tim_6:13).

Note: For the adverb homologoumenos, confessedly, see CONTROVERSY.

See also : homologia in other topics