Anastrepho: How to Behave in Church

Word of the Week

April 11, 2026

Anastrephō: How to Behave in Church

 

But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.

1 Timothy 3:15 KJV

 

We raised out kids in the era when most churches had an evening service – and there were no separate activities for children.  Our pew near the front was the scene of two adults trying to keep three toddlers from disrupting the proceedings.

I would draw cartoon animals.  They would color pictures.  There might be a snack or two involved.  Anything to keep them quiet during the sermon.

When I read the verse in 1 Timothy that talks about “how to behave in the house of God,” I can’t help but recall those days.

Fortunately, Paul had something different in mind when he wrote those words:

He was writing to a young pastor named Timothy, not to preschoolers.

He was writing about the church as the people of God, not the church building.

He was writing about daily life, not a worship service.

And he used a Greek word for “behave” that means much more than just drawing pictures.

He chose the word anastrephō [ah-nah-STREH-foh] which is often translated as “conduct yourself, behave, live.”  It shows up 9 times in the New Testament, partnered with a matching noun that appears 13 Times.

Take it apart and you’ll find that it comes from two shorter Greek words:  strephō (“to turn”) and ana ({up, back, again).  We can see the idea clearly in Acts 5:22, where the temple security guards were sent to retrieve the apostles who had been arrested the day before.  The guards went to the prison.  When they got there, they discovered that an angel had engineered a jail break and the prisoners were gone. As a result, “they returned” and retraced their steps to report their findings.

Anastrephō meant to go one direction and then come back the other way.

In classical Greek, it was used as an apt description of someone walking back and forth – not going directly to a destination but lingering in a spot – dawdling for a while.  Before long, it became a reference to a person’s pattern of life.

People would use this word on a tombstone to introduce a description of the deceased person’s character.  If they erected a monument or a memorial plaque, it might include a statement noting that his/her behavior was “good and praiseworthy” or “at all times blameless and fearless.”

We find it used in a similar way in the New Testament.  It introduces a concise description of a person’s pattern of behavior.

• Paul claimed that his behavior in Corinth was one of “holiness and godly sincerity” (2 Corinthians 1:12).
• The writer of Hebrews aimed to conduct himself “honorably in all things” (Hebrews 13:18).
• And Peter urged his readers to maintain a lifestyle characterized by the fear of God (1 Peter 1:17).

Sometimes a person can adopt a destructive pattern of life.

• Peter warns against false teachers whose actions are characterized by error (2 Peter 2:18).
• Paul claims that the behavior of a world apart from God is governed by the drive to indulge one’s lusts (Ephesians 2:3).

How will people describe you when they step back to look at your overall pattern of life?  At your funeral, what words will they use to describe you?

No wonder Paul exhorted Timothy to pay attention to his conduct, living in a way that is appropriate for a member of God’s family.  Perhaps he would summarize it using the word “exemplary.”  That’s what he chooses a little later in the book when he tells Timothy to be an example of the believer (1 Timothy 4:12).

 

Study Hint:

It seems appropriate to choose this word to describe a person’s overall pattern of life, based on the picture of a person walking back and forth.  Paul uses a similar image in the book of Ephesians when he describes the ways in which a believer should “walk.”  The Greek word there is peripateō, which comes from a pair of words that mean “to step” and “around.”  Again, the idea is “to walk around” – a great description of how one spends his or her time.

 

Coming Up

When Paul wrote his final letter, he was on death row.  Being a follower of Jesus had become dangerous, and it was easy to fade back into the woodwork.  That may be why Paul uses a Greek word in 2 Timothy that was intended to strengthen his sometimes timid associate.

 

©Ezra Project 2026