The New Testament Has Two Different Words for "Time"
Did you know that when your English Bible says "time," it could be translating either of two Greek words that mean very different things?
"Redeeming the time, because the days are evil." — Ephesians 5:16 (KJV)— Ephesians 5:16
Did you know your English Bible uses one word — "time" — for two Greek words that mean quite different things?
Chronos (χρόνος, Strong's G5550) is sequential, measurable time: minutes, days, months, years. English borrowed it for "chronological," "chronicle," and "chronometer."
Kairos (καιρός, Strong's G2540) is an appointed season, a strategic opening, a decisive moment. It is time as opportunity rather than time as duration.
Here is where it matters. When Paul writes "redeeming the time" in Ephesians 5:16, the word is kairos. When Peter says "the time past of our life may suffice us" in 1 Peter 4:3, that is chronos. And when Jesus tells the disciples in Acts 1:7 that it is not for them to know "the times or the seasons," He uses both — chronos and kairos side by side.
God gives you both kinds. Chronos is the length of your earthly life. Kairos is the set of God-appointed openings placed inside it. Discover the full word study →
Why It Matters
You were never commanded to squeeze more output from the clock. You were commanded to recognize and seize the moments God sets in front of you — which means a "small" life full of obeyed kairos moments is a life well spent.
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