Carry Away

Greek Word Pronunciation: sun-ah-PA-go
Strong’s Number: 4879
Goodrich/Kohlenberger Number: 5270
Key Verse: “… not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly.” -- Romans 12:16

Sunapago is a compound word, comprised of sun, meaning “with” or “together” and apago, meaning to “lead or carry away.” In the Septuagint, an example of sunapago is found is Exodus 14:6 with reference to the king of Egypt who “made his chariot ready and took his people with him.”

In the New Testament, this word is found only 3 times, and it is used only in the passive voice. Galatians 2:13 speaks of Barnabas being carried away by the hypocrisy of the Jewish believers in Antioch. Peter, Barnabas, and the other believers were confessing that they were one in Christ with the Gentiles, committed to the gospel of grace. Yet Barnabas was swept off his feet with the others when they denied the truth by their conduct.

In 2 Peter 3:17, the warning is to “be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men.” We are commanded to be constantly on guard so as not to be swept away from the correct doctrine of Christ. By keeping company with false teachers who distort Scripture, there is a danger in losing the secure position in the truth.

In ROMANS 12:16, Paul commands us to “not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly.” Paul is saying that we’re to be continually borne away by the current of our Christian sympathy along with those who are humble. Ordinary people, those of “low standard,” are identified as such only by the world’s standards. Christ thought they were worth dying for, and as such we’re to associate lovingly with them.