BOLDNESS

bold'-nes (parresia, "confidence," "fearlessness," "freedom of speech"): This was one of the results of discipleship (Acts 4:13,29,31; Ephesians 3:12; Philippians 1:20; 1 Timothy 3:13; 1 John 4:17). It was a necessary qualification for the work assigned them. They were not only subject to violent persecutions, but also were the constant subject of ridicule and contempt. Paul uses the word in the sense of plainness in 2 Corinthians 3:12. In Hebrews 10:19; 1 John 2:28; 4:17, it has the sense of freeness resulting from confidence. In Philemon 1:8, the reference is to the authority which Paul claims in this case.

Jacob W. Kapp

From the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Edited by James Orr, published in 1939 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.