Andy Naselli

Thoughts on Theology

Exegesis

Carson on the implications of 1 Cor 2:15

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ὁ δὲ πνευματικὸς ἀνακρίνει [τὰ] πάντα, αὐτὸς δὲ ὑπ᾽ οὐδενὸς ἀνακρίνεται.

But the one who is spiritual discerns all things, yet he himself is understood by no one.

-1 Cor 2:15 NET

Unfortunately, this verse has been ripped out of its context to justify the most appalling arrogance. Some people think of themselves as especially spiritual and discerning Christians and judge that this verse authorizes them, the elite of the elect, to make well-nigh infallible judgments across a broad range of matters. Moreover, they insist, they are so spiritual that others do not have the right to judge them. After all, does not the apostle say that the “spiritual man” is “not subject to any man’s judgment”?This simply will not do. In the context, the “spiritual man” is the person with the Holy Spirit, over against “the man without the Spirit.” The “spiritual man,” in short, is the Christian, not a member of an elite coterie of Christians. . . . “[A]ll things” covers the range of moral and spiritual experience from the rawest paganism to what it means to be a Christian. The Christian has lived in both worlds and can speak of both from experience, from observation, and from a genuine grasp of the Word of God. But the person without the Spirit cannot properly assess what goes on in the spiritual realm–any more than a person who is color-blind is qualified to make nice distinctions in the dramatic hues of a sunset or a rainbow, any more than a person born deaf is qualified to comment on the harmony of Beethoven’s Fifth or on the voice and technique of Pavarotti.

It is important to think through the implications of this verse. Christians in contemporary Western society are constantly being told that they are ignorant, narrow, and incapable of understanding the real world. Paul says the opposite: Christians are as capable as other sinners of understanding the complex and interwoven nature of sin, of grasping the ways in which “wannabe” autonomous human beings reason, and of explaining what the world looks like to modern pagans in our post-modern world. But because they have received the Spirit of God, they are also capable of saying something wise and true about the way the world appears to God. . . . And all this makes them much more comprehensive in outlook than their pagan peers. The really narrow perspective is maintained by the sinner who has never tasted grace, by the fallen human being who has never enjoyed transforming insight, afforded by the Holy Spirit, into God’s wise purposes.

From this perspective, it is idiotic–that is not too strong a word–to extol the world’s perspective and secretly lust after its limited vision. That is what the Corinthians were apparently doing; that is what we are in danger of doing every time we adopt our world’s shibboleths, dote on its heroes, admire its transient stars, seek its admiration, and play to its applause.

–D. A. Carson, “The Cross and the Holy Spirit: 1 Corinthians 2:6-16,” in The Cross and Christian Ministry: Leadership Lessons from 1 Corinthians (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1993), 58-60.

Carson at College Church in Wheaton

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D. A. Carson recently preached at College Church in Wheaton, Illinois, three Sundays in row: May 20, May 27, and June 3.

  1. May 20: “How to Think About Pastors” (1 Timothy 3:1-7)
  2. May 27: “How to Think About Money” (1 Timothy 6:3-19). In this sermon Carson highly recommends Craig Blomberg‘s Neither Poverty Nor Riches: A Biblical Theology of Possessions.
  3. June 3: “How to Think About the Last Days” (2 Timothy 3:1-17)

College Church is still looking for a pastor. R. Kent Hughes “retired from his pulpit ministry at College Church and was given the title Senior Pastor Emeritus in December 2006.“

Dignified Translations

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Update: See an updated version of this post here.

Yesterday Jenni and I went on a long walk and listened to Robert Stein‘s first three lectures for his course on hermeneutics. He told some very funny stories about various Bible translations, and two rather shocking ones were news to me. These two translations occur below, each at the end of its list, and they illustrate the importance of dignified translations.

1 Samuel 20:30a

  • NASB (cf. KJV, RSV, NRSV, ESV, NIV) Then Saul’s anger burned against Jonathan and he said to him, “You son of a perverse, rebellious woman!“
  • NET Saul became angry with Jonathan and said to him, “You stupid traitor!“
  • Message Saul exploded in anger at Jonathan: “You son of a slut!“
  • NLT Saul boiled with rage at Jonathan. “You stupid son of a whore!” he swore at him.
  • The original Living Bible Saul boiled with rage. “You son of a bitch!” he yelled at him.

Romans 3:3-4a

  • KJV For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect? God forbid:
  • NASB What then? If some did not believe, their unbelief will not nullify the faithfulness of God, will it? May it never be!
  • ESV (cf. RSV, NRSV) What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? By no means!
  • NET (cf. HCSB) What then? If some did not believe, does their unbelief nullify the faithfulness of God? Absolutely not!
  • NIV What if some did not have faith? Will their lack of faith nullify God’s faithfulness? Not at all!
  • Message So, what if, in the course of doing that, some of those Jews abandoned their post? God didn’t abandon them. Do you think their faithlessness cancels out his faithfulness? Not on your life!
  • NLT True, some of them were unfaithful; but just because they were unfaithful, does that mean God will be unfaithful? Of course not!
  • Cotton Patch Version All right, so some of them are hypocrites; does their hypocrisy nullify God’s sincerity? Hell no. [fn.: “Just about the proper strength for the Greek phrase.”]

Update on 3/31/2017: In my latest attempt to explain how to interpret and apply the Bible, I include a chapter on Bible translation (pp. 50–81).

Willing and Doing in Rom 7:18 and Phil 2:13

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This morning I was reading Romans 7, and when I read verse 18b, I immediately connected the two infinitives (θέλειν and κατεργάζεσθαι) with the two infinitives in Philippians 2:13 (θέλειν and ἐνεργεῖν). I had not made this connection before, so I quickly double-checked about ten prominent commentaries on Romans and didn’t see the connection made there either (though I’m sure many others have already thought of this). It appears to be a significant connection, regardless of your view of the “I” in Rom 7:7-25. See what you think.

Romans 7:18b

  • τὸ γὰρ θέλειν παράκειταί μοι, τὸ δὲ κατεργάζεσθαι τὸ καλὸν οὔ
  • NASB for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not.
  • KJV for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
  • ESV For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.
  • HCSB For the desire to do what is good is with me, but there is no ability to do it.
  • RSV, NRSV I can will what is right, but I cannot do it.
  • NIV For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.
  • NET For I want to do the good, but I cannot do it.
  • NLT I want to do what is right, but I can’t.
  • Message I can will it, but I can’t do it.

Philippians 2:13

  • θεὸς γάρ ἐστιν ὁ ἐνεργῶν ἐν ὑμῖν καὶ τὸ θέλειν καὶ τὸ ἐνεργεῖν ὑπὲρ τῆς εὐδοκίας.
  • NASB for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.
  • KJV For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
  • ESV for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
  • HCSB For it is God who is working in you, enabling you both to will and to act for His good purpose.
  • NRSV for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
  • NIV for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
  • NET for the one bringing forth in you both the desire and the effort–for the sake of his good pleasure–is God.
  • NLT For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.
  • Message That energy is God’s energy, an energy deep within you, God himself willing and working at what will give him the most pleasure.

Selah.

Piper on Romans 8:18-25

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I’ve heard dozens of John Piper‘s sermons on MP3, but yesterday at the The Gospel Coalition conference, I had the privilege of hearing Piper preach in person for the first time.

  • It was the most moving sermon I’ve ever heard Piper preach. It compelled me to worship my sovereign God, long to be with Him, and hate what He hates.
  • The Gospel Coalition’s site will have audio and video from the conference available for free in about three weeks, but Desiring God has already posted the manuscript and MP3 of Piper’s sermon entitled “The Triumph of God in the New Heavens and the New Earth,” an exposition of Romans 8:18-25.
  • The MP3 does not include D. A. Carson‘s introduction in which he gave an anecdote about D. Martyn Lloyd Jones‘ powerful preaching and then described John Piper as the modern-day Lloyd Jones.

Osborne on Bible Study

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“The big problem with Bible study today is that we think it should be easier than other things we do. We study recipes for quality meals, how-to books for all kinds of things—carpentry, plumbing, automobile maintenance and so on—and read vociferously for our hobbies. Why do we think the Bible is the only subject we should not have to study?! Let me challenge you—make the Bible your hobby. At one level I do not like the analogy; the Bible must be so much more than a hobby! But at another level, what if we spent as much time and money on Bible study as we do our hobbies? What if we took the same amount we spend on golf clubs and courses or on skiing equipment and skiing trips, and put it into Bible study? Yes, encyclopedias, commentaries and other reference materials are expensive. But so is everything we do. The question is about priorities: what is important enough for our time and money? I want to encourage you to get and use the tools that enable us to bridge the gap back to Bible times and authorial intention.”

–Grant R. Osborne, The Hermeneutical Spiral: A Comprehensive Introduction to Biblical Interpretation (2d ed.; Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 2006), 25.

“One Night with the King”

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Last weekend Jenni and I checked out from the library the DVD One Night with the King, a dramatization of the book of Esther. It was a disappointment.

1. About

2. Brief analysis: The film is deeply disappointing in both content and form.

  • Content: Jenni and I have grown up hearing and reading the book of Esther, and the biblical plot is fresh on our minds because we worked through the book of Esther in one sitting both the night before and the morning after watching the film. I am just stunned by reviews that claim that the film’s plot is faithful to the biblical plot. The film’s plot mutilates the narrative that God inspired. It would take a long essay to substantiate this, and I have no desire to take the time to do that. Suffice it to say, most of the key points in the film change significant details in the biblical narrative with both addition and subtraction.
  • Form: The film made us laugh—but for the wrong reasons. We laughed because many of the characters and lines are so corny. The film is light and comical with slapstick humor similar to The Princess Bride (but not nearly as funny!). Though not as outrageous as Veggie Tales, the form of the film does not fit the weightiness and gravity of the biblical narrative. Esther, for example, behaves like a flighty, immature teenage girl.

On a scale of 1 to 10, I’d rank the film at 1 or 2. It’s really that bad. I would go a bit farther than Phil Gons, who cautiously recommends watching the film. If you haven’t seen it, my advice is simple: don’t waste your time on it. Read the book of Esther instead. (And if you’re looking for a Bible film to watch, my top recommendation is The Gospel of John.) Films that take dramatic license with biblical narratives almost inevitably compromise the message of the text. Narrative is a literary genre that a film cannot perfectly reproduce. The problem with One Night with the King is not that it fails to reproduce the biblical narrative (that would be an unfair standard), but that it twists and distorts both its content and form.

3. Learning from the story of Esther

In 2002, I prepared a sermon on Esther entitled “Trusting God’s Silent Providence.” I’d no doubt tweak it if I preached it today, but my outline (which reflects Layton Talbert’s Not by Chance—see below) highlights many details in the biblical narrative that the film alters.

  • God’s silent providence directs man’s wrath.
    • It directed King Ahasuerus’ wrath (because of proud embarrassment) against Queen Vashti (1:12; 2:1).
    • It directed Bigthan’s and Teresh’s wrath (because of political hatred) against King Ahasuerus (2:21).
    • It directed Haman’s wrath (because of offended arrogance and racism) against Mordecai (3:5; 5:9).
    • It directed King Ahasuerus’ wrath (because of a mistaken impression) against Haman (7:7, 10).
  • God’s silent providence includes “chance.”
    • It included King Ahasuerus’ call for Queen Vashti and her refusal (1:10-12).
    • It included Esther’s replacement of Vashti as queen (1-2).
    • It included Mordecai’s uncovering of the assassination plot against King Ahasuerus (2:21-23).
    • It included Haman’s unexplained promotion (3:1).
    • It included the lot (“pur” in Hebrew) that Haman cast to determine when to destroy the Jews (3:7).
    • It included Esther’s hesitation to petition King Ahasuerus at the first banquet (5:6-8).
    • It included King Ahasuerus’ inability to sleep and the reading of Mordecai’s unrewarded deed (6:1-3).
    • It included the timing of Haman’s appearance at King Ahasuerus’ court when the king desired to reward Mordecai and Haman desired to murder him (6:4).
    • It included the reversal of what seemed to be certain destruction for the Jews (8-9).

4. Some recommended reading on Esther and/or the narrative genre

(If you’d like to share comments about One Night with the King, I’d recommend doing so here.)

Blomberg MP3s on NT Introduction

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BiblicalTraining.org is now offering an “Introduction to the New Testament” course on MP3 by Craig Blomberg (Theopedia | Wikipedia). The first half, Gospels and Acts, is currently available in some thirty-five MP3s (available for free downloads). Blomberg, author of a number of books and articles on the Gospels, has recently penned From Pentecost to Patmos: An Introduction to Acts Through Revelation (Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 2006).