Here is my fairly literal translation of these verses:
1Paul, an apostle, not from men neither through a man, but through Jesus Christ and God [the] Father Who raised Him out of [the] dead ones, 2and all the brothers with me, to the churches of Galatia: 3Grace to you and peace from God [the] Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, 4Who gave Himself on behalf of our sins, in order that He might rescue us out of the evil of the present age according to the desire of our God and Father, 5to Whom [be] the glory into the ages of the ages. Amen.
Just some more miscellaneous thoughts I want to jot down before going on:
Notice how in verse 2, Paul adds, “2and all the brothers with me, …”. I realize that he may make mention of “all the brothers with me” in an attempt to augment his case, that not only is he himself a divinely called apostle, but that his message is not in any way unique to him – it is shared by many others. However, that said, I have many times noted how much of a team player Paul was. He was not in any way, shape, or form a lone ranger. He deeply valued the talents and contributions of his friends and associates. Think about it: In verse 1 he asserts his own miraculous calling, then right away in verse 2 he’s thinking of all those with him. Point is just that I think we all need to seriously learn to value the people around us, those we work with and associate with, our spouses, families, etc. When we think somehow we really don’t need them (desperately) we’re missing it big time.
In verse 4 we are reminded that Jesus gave Himself “on behalf of our sins” and then the text goes on to note why He did it. There is a textual variant in the “why” that is at least interesting to think about. Many translations follow one variant and will read something like “to rescue us from this present evil age.” However, there is another variant which changes the word order and based on that I translate it “ that He might rescue us out of the evil of the present age…” It is a minor point, but notice that, in the first He recues us from the age, while in the second (mine) He rescues us from the evil. I personally think the evidence slightly favors the latter and I also think it is more Biblically precise. For whatever it’s worth, my good friend John Eadie agrees with me, so it must be right (!). Again, I know I’m splitting exegetical hairs and even my variant could be reasonably translated to read just like theirs.
But … I think it is a very sad mis-emphasis in the Christian world to see the present world as evil. The world is not evil. This is the world God created. Yes it is spoiled and contorted with evil but it is a sad, sad mistake to be unable to mentally separate the beautiful wonder of God’s creation from the distortions of it. Jesus’ entire mission is to deliver us from the evil of the world. He Himself prayed, “I ask not that You take them out of the world, but that You would deliver them from the evil …” The Lord’s prayer is not that He would deliver us from the world but that He would deliver us from evil. I’ve probably said enough but I strongly believe one of the reasons Jesus Himself got along so well with people in this world is because He saw even the people themselves as God’s creation. He saw their sin and their evil as a contortion of the beauty which still resided in them. He could honestly value and respect prostitutes and tax-collectors by seeing them in the inherent dignity of their creation in the image of God. He could look straight at them and mentally separate that dignity from the contortions caused by their sins. They obviously sensed His respect for them – which they got nowhere else, and as a result they valued Him and many received Him. It is sadly very common for believers to have an attitude that basically this world is useless and evil and the only way they can be spiritual is to somehow escape it. Such a mistake. Even in II Peter 1:4, we’re told that God has “given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, escaping the corruption that is in the world through lust.” Notice that, through faith in His promises we escape “the corruption that is in the world…” I think it is an enormous step of Christian maturity to make this distinction.
Finally one last note: In verse 5 we are told all of this happened “according to the will of God the Father.” Here is another place where I think we need to note the distinction between the Greek words boulomai and thelo. The two words are both translated something like “will” and are considered by many to be essentially synonymous. I personally beg to differ and I do not think it is a matter of splitting hairs in this case. I think a lack of translative precision in the case of these two words is at the root of much theological confusion. Boulomai is specifically a word which speaks of deliberate purpose while thelo speaks of desire. Even in English, there is a huge difference between deliberate purpose and simple desire. Again, even in English, the two can seem to overlap: One sets about a deliberate purpose because he no doubt desires something and we can say that someone obviously desires something because he sets about a deliberate purpose. However that doesn’t change the fact that the two ideas are, in and of themselves, not the same. And I personally think it is often critically important to understand whether God simply desires something, that He in some way expresses the wish that something be true, as compared to those cases where He has clearly purposed that something will be true, that it will come about. One passage where this distinction is of profound theological importance is II Peter 3:9. (Anyone interested can look up my notes on that from back around 2010). At any rate … in this particular verse, the word used is thelo (or specifically the noun form thelaima), so it is specifically expressing God’s desire, not necessarily His purpose. And so how does it read? “According to the desire of God the Father …” Jesus “gave Himself … to rescue us out of the evil of the present world … according to the desire of God the Father.” He obviously also did it as a part of God’s eternal deliberate purpose, His eternal plan, but in this passage what’s in focus is God’s desire. I personally think that is significant. In this case, He’s showing us His heart. He didn’t offer grace as some kind of wise governmental policy. He wants us to know grace.
Maybe someone is reading this and thinking I’m quite obsessed with minutiae. However, I think not. I would suggest that many see God as someone far away, issuing royal decrees and being only somewhat available or even interested. I maintain that, while it is true that He is a great King, the Sovereign of the Universe, and we must acknowledge Him in that role, yet to know Him is to know His personal, generous, affectionate, embracing, totally benevolent heart. I think it is critically important that someone not only accept His plan of salvation, His offer of grace, but that they realize He’s offering it because He wants to. That’s Who He is. Go ahead. Climb in His lap. Bury your face in His big strong chest. Feel His arms around you. Even enjoy Him tickling you now and then. But know this: He loves you.
He’s a wonderful Savior. If only we could all see Him clearly. We’d all rush and jump in His lap together. It's certainly fitting to conclude with the words, "to Whom [be] the glory into the ages of the ages. Amen."
No comments:
Post a Comment