B-1

Verb

Strong’s Number: g1937

Greek: epithumeo

Lust (Noun and Verb):

akin to A, No. 1, has the same twofold meaning as the noun, namely

(a) “to desire,” used of the Holy Spirit against the flesh, Gal 5:17 (see below); of the Lord Jesus, Luk 22:15, “I have desired;” of the holy angels, 1Pe 1:12; of good men, for good things, Mat 13:17; 1Ti 3:1; Hbr 6:11; of men, for things without moral quality, Luk 15:16; 16:21; 17:22; Rev 9:6;

(b) of “evil desires,” in respect of which it is translated “to lust” in Mat 5:28; 1Cr 10:6; Gal 5:17 (1st part; see below); Jam 4:2; to covet, Act 20:23; Rom 7:7; 13:9.
See COVET, DESIRE, B, No. 2.

Notes:

(1) In Gal 5:17, in the statement, “the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh,” the Holy Spirit is intended, as in the preceding verse. To walk by the Spirit involves the opposition here referred to. The verb “lusteth” is not repeated in the second part of the statement, but must in some way be supplied. Since in modern English the word “lust” is used exclusively in a bad sense, it is unsuitable as a translation of epithumeo, where the word is used in a good sense. As the rendering “desire” is used of the Lord Jesus (as mentioned above), it may be best so understood here in respect of the Holy Spirit.

(2) In Jam 4:5 the RV translates correctly in giving two questions, each of a rhetorical character, asked by way of remonstrance. The first draws attention to the fact that it is impossible for the Scripture to speak in vain; the second to the impossibility that the Holy Spirit, whom God has caused to dwell in the believer, should “long (unto envying),” epipotheo (AV, “lust”). Here again, not the human spirit is in view, but the Spirit of God; cp. 1Cr 6:19.
See LONG.

The author here uses the word remonstrance which means a forcefully reproachful protest. (yes I had to look up the meaning) This is clearly one of those subject matters that evoke strong personal emotions and cannot be boiled down to a simple definition. 

If we understand one another we will know what subjects are considered taboo and which ones need to be explored in greater detail.

My desire in these efforts on the study of lust is to help us avoid wounding one another by insisting that our understanding is more important than the relationship we have with one another.

Love does not insist on having its own way.

Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words

A-1

Noun

Strong’s Number: g1939

Greek: epithumia

Lust (Noun and Verb):

denotes “strong desire” of any kind, the various kinds being frequently specified by some adjective (see below). The word is used of a good desire only in Luk 22:15; Phl 1:23; 1Th 2:17. Everywhere else it has a bad sense. In Rom 6:12 the injunction against letting sin reign in our mortal body to obey the “lust” thereof, refers to those evil desires which are ready to express themselves in bodily activity. They are equally the “lusts” of the flesh, Rom 13:14; Gal 5:16, 24; Eph 2:3; 2Pe 2:18; 1Jo 2:16, a phrase which describes the emotions of the soul, the natural tendency towards things evil. Such “lusts” are not necessarily base and immoral, they may be refined in character, but are evil if inconsistent with the will of God.

Other descriptions besides those already mentioned are: “of the mind,” Eph 2:3; “evil (desire),” Col 3:5; “the passion of,” 1Th 4:5, RV; “foolish and hurtful,” 1Ti 6:9; “youthful,” 2Ti 2:22; “divers,” 2Ti 3:6; Tts 3:3; “their own,” 2Ti 4:3; 2Pe 3:3; Jud 1:16; “worldly,” Tts 2:12; “his own,” Jam 1:14; “your former,” 1Pe 1:14, RV; “fleshly,” 1Pe 2:11; “of men,” 1Pe 4:2; “of defilement,” 2Pe 2:10; “of the eyes,” 1Jo 2:16; of the world (“thereof”), 1Jo 2:17; “their own ungodly,” Jud 1:18. In Rev 18:14 “(the fruits) which thy soul lusted after” is, lit., “of thy soul’s lust.”
See DESIRE, A, No. 1 (where associated words are noted).

A-2

Noun

Strong’s Number: g3715

Greek: orexis

Lust (Noun and Verb):

lit., “a reaching” or “stretching after” (akin to oregomai, “to stretch oneself out, reach after”), a general term for every kind of desire, is used in Rom 1:27, “lust.”

A-3

Noun

Strong’s Number: g2237

Greek: hedone

Lust (Noun and Verb):

“pleasure,” is translated “lusts,” in the AV of Jam 4:1, 3 (RV, “pleasure”).
See PLEASURE.

Note: In 1Th 4:5, AV, pathos, “passion” (RV, “passion”), is translated “lust,” which is the better rendering of the next word epithumia, rendered “concupiscence.” Pathos is described by Trench as “the diseased condition out of which epithumia springs.” In 1Cr 12:6: epithumetes, a luster after, is rendered “to lust.”

Nouns are affected by adjectives used in a sentence and have relevance to a particular subject at hand. Lust is not as cut and dried as one simple noun or verb. In our translations it is a matter of how it is used in connection with a subject matter. Quoted: “Such “lusts” are not necessarily base and immoral, they may be refined in character, but are evil if inconsistent with the will of God.”