κοσμικός

ἐπίγειος epígeios · G1919 · on the earth, in the world, human

ἐπίγειος shares the 'earthly' sense of κοσμικός, both denoting what pertains to the earth/world as opposed to the heavenly; ἐπίγειος emphasizes the terrestrial location (on/of the earth), while κοσμικός emphasizes belonging to the world-order, but they are functionally interchangeable in many contexts contrasting earthly with heavenly realities.

σαρκικός sarkikós · G4559 · human, natural, material

σαρκικός overlaps with κοσμικός in the figurative/moral sense (corrupt, worldly-minded); both can denote what is opposed to the spiritual realm, with σαρκικός emphasizing the fleshly/carnal nature and κοσμικός emphasizing the worldly system, but sharing the connotation of what is morally inferior to the spiritual.

Earthly, on earth1.40

κοσμικός can describe what belongs to this present earthly realm. Hebrews 9:1 states that “the first covenant had regulations for divine worship and the earthly sanctuary,” the κοσμικόν naming this earthly, as opposed to heavenly, sanctuary.

Worldly, of the world41.39

The same word can also describe what belongs to the corrupt values of the world system. Titus 2:12 instructs believers, “instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously, and in a godly manner in the present age,” the κοσμικὰς naming these worldly desires to be denied.

Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.

Meanings adapted from the UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament, © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0 and the UBS Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew (from the Semantic Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew), © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0; MACULA Greek Linguistic Datasets, available at https://github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-greek/, licensed CC BY 4.0; MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets © 2022-2024 by Biblica, Inc., CC BY 4.0. Westminster Leningrad Codex (tanach.us). OpenScriptures Hebrew Bible morphology (hb.openscriptures.org), CC BY 4.0.