Dr. Newman mentioned that he would like me to diagram the Greek sentences as I read and study. When I sat down to tackle the first passage, I became inundated by all the subtle decisions I had to make only in the first verse (Ephesians 1:3, the first of the passage)! What I learned, very quickly, is that there is not really such a thing as a purely objective reading of the text. Every sentence teems with interpretive demands.
When simply reading ἐν τοῖς ἐπουρανίοις ("in the heavenlies") and ἐν Χριστῳ ("in Christ") of verse 3, it is easy to pass over and to ignore a very obvious issue--what do these prepositions modify? Do they modify each other? If so, how? Are the spiritual blessings (εὐλογίᾳ πνευματικῃ) in the heavens, or was it God's having blessed us (εὐλογήσας ἡμᾶς) that is in the heavens? Are the heavenlies in Christ, or are the spiritual blessings in Christ? Or is it that all the prepositions modifying God's having blessed us? I opted for the latter in this case.
These issues were always there every time I read them before, but I was not forced to recognize the decisions I had been making all along until I drew them out on paper. The only thing I fear is that I will not qualified to make such decisions in the future when they have deeper theological implications. Thank God the Holy Spirit in me is.
Friday, February 13, 2009
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