Original Word: νήφω
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: néphó
Phonetic Spelling: (nay’-fo)
Definition: to be sober, to abstain from wine
Usage: (lit: I am sober), I am calm (vigilant), circumspect.
3525 nḗphō – properly, to be sober (not drunk), not intoxicated; (figuratively) free from illusion, i.e. from the intoxicating influences of sin (like the impact of selfish passion, greed, etc.).
3525 /nḗphō (“be sober, unintoxicated”) refers to having presence of mind (clear judgment), enabling someone to be temperate (self-controlled). 3525 /nḗphō (“uninfluenced by intoxicants”) means to have “one’s wits (faculties) about them,” which is the opposite of being irrational.
13Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 14As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance:
As you can see in the scripture above there is even a reference to what I keep mentioning about achieving Christ’s Understanding. You can see this even further by clicking on the word “hope” and you will see the reference to the word faith/pistis in there. Like I have mentioned through out this site, The goal/aim/mark of pistis is to lead us to Christ’s understanding. The goal, aim or mark of sin/hamartano is to keep you drunk in its illusory effect within your mind to keep you from comprehending pistis. It knows if you comprehend pistis and how it works within you, you will be set free from its grip it (hamartano) has on you and the light of pistis will kill the darkness of hamartano in you leaving you sober and hamartano, deception dead inside you. It don’t want this so it will do what ever it takes within your mind to keep you drunk and thinking it your own free will thought to disagree with truth.
Many can attest to what it is like to try to rationalize with a (literal drunk). Its just a waste of breath because they will argue from their intoxicated point of view just to argue. Even if you think you got through to them, when they wake up the next day they most likely forgot the conversation because they are back to their so called reality which is the state of mind of hamartano.
I think of it like this, Adam and Eve became intoxicated when they ate/partook/ingested from the tree of knowledge/sin/lie/death, their perception was changed and the end result has had that effect on all of mankind that came from them. their ingesting/partaking in the deception of sin/hamartano has branched out into all of us and we are by default born into the deception and partaking of it ourselves through ignorance. But the same free will that Adam and Eve had to make the wrong decision, we have to make the right one. The right one is to choose to partake/ingest that of pistis so we can be changed back to a sober mind/nous!
3Blessed [be] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, 5Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.6Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: 7That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: 8Whom having not seen {5625;1492:5631}, ye love; in whom, though now ye see [him] not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: 9Receiving the end of your faith, [even] the salvation of [your] souls.