CB Login
Home 
Tzedakah Moment Romans 9:1-5 Part Two
Tzedakah Moment Romans 9:1-5 Part Two
| Romans 9 Part Two |
 |
 |
 |
The Anguish of Paul’s Heart and Life:I tell (you) the truth in Christ, I do not lie, my own conscience testifying in the Holy Spirit, 2 that I am (in) great sorrow and constant distress (in) my heart. In Christ, Paul states categorically that he is speaking the truth – jAlhvqeian levgw. The interesting twist to the sentence, and one which could cause some to place the emphasis of ejn Cristw`/ on the concept of truth rather than the speaker, is that ajlhvqeian (“[the] truth”) is found as the first word in the sentence. However, the focus should not be on the direct object of the sentence but on the subject of the expression.i “The truth” is only true because the speaker is in Christ.ii Daniel Wallace focuses in on the speaker by considering the “I tell (you),” expression, levgw, because the verb involves a continuous action instead of merely a repeated action.iii In Christ, Paul also states in verse one that he does not lie, ou yeuvdomai. Wallace would also consider this a progressive present verb because Paul is not and will not be lying when the future becomes the present.iv However, this phrase should not be considered as a parenthetic statementv or a simple parallel to “my own conscience testifying in the Holy Spirit.”vi Instead it should be seen as Paul’s manner of speaking in what Calvin described as speaking “without fiction or disguise.”vii The phrase is its own separate statement and provides proof that Paul is sincere in what he will proclaim in verse three. He is in a sense “covering the gamut” in his oath form expressions.viii Consequently, and because Paul speaks the truth and does not lie, the Holy Spirit is able give testimony of Paul’s conscience (i.e., the depth of pain found in his heart). Wallace does not define the adverbial participle of means, summarturouvsh?, as another progressive present; however, one should assume that Paul would maintain the consistency in his expressions. Joseph Fitzmyer considers this as a parenthetic statement to the opening phrase of the verse.ix This view of Fitzmyer is again a sense of subordination of Paul’s statement instead of recognizing that each phrase is both building upon the previous statement and magnifying the enormity of what Paul is willing to sacrifice. However, this should not be seen as MacArthur suggests as “summoning such an array of witnesses” x for Paul is not calling on two testimonies but rather one testimony through two of the three persons of the Trinity (see fn. 46).xi This testimony will then support the rest of the passage which “begins” with Paul’s expression of lament and sorrow. Next Part …A Continued Examination of Paul’s Oath Statement in Romans 9:1 Previous Part |
Shopping Cart and Checkout
Your Cart is currently empty.
Paypal Donations
