Historical usage of Words reveals the Contextual Meaning

[Van]

False teachers attack truth by redefining the meaning of words. Many times in scripture the statement is made that salvation is "through faith." Often the Greek preposition "dia" which means "by means of" or "by reason of" when used to indicate instrumentality, is nullified by a non-literal corruption rather than literal interpretation.

If individuals were chosen for salvation unconditionally, then salvation would not be "through faith."

Thus when you see "through faith" (or by faith) some non-literal expositors claim the meaning is by reason of the gifted and instilled faith due to election before creation via irresistible grace.

However that gross addition to scripture, based purely on the speculation of people, is not how scripture actually reads.

And this repeated rewriting of scripture violates at least two Baptist distinctives, in that the view does not adhere to a literal interpretation, and that individual soul liberty to believe or not in Christ is denied.

Here are some of the verses that liberals rewrite via interpretation:
Romans 3:25
Galatians 3:14
Galatians 3:26
Ephesians 2:8
Colossians 2:12

Romans 3:25 NASB1995
whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed;

God displayed Christ, high and lifted up on the Cross, as the means of salvation because of His life blood sacrifice. The means of obtaining that salvation is by reason of our faith in Christ, if credited by God as righteousness. Thus Christ provides the means of salvation through (dia) faith. Since faith is utilized in obtaining salvation, our faith must pre-exist our salvation, rather than the bogus rewrite that our faith is instilled after salvation.

Galatians 3:14 (NASB)
in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham would come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

First this verse says in order that we gain entry into Christ, that entry is "through or by reason of" faith. Next, entry, whether of a Jew or Gentile, results in receiving the Holy Spirit, for we are "sealed" in Christ with the Holy Spirit, as a pledge to our future bodily redemption. And finally, this blessing was promised to Abraham and his descendants. We become a descendant of Abraham through faith.

Galatians 3:26
For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.

How did we become children of God? Through or by reason of faith in Christ Jesus.

Once again non-literal interpreters would rewrite the verse to say we became children of God and then were given faith. Not how it reads...

Ephesians 2 :8
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this salvation not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;

Once again we are saved by means of God crediting our faith in Christ as righteousness, thus our faith is utilized by God in bestowing salvation upon those of His choosing.

Colossians 2:12
having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.

Finally we see not only that our salvation we through or based on God crediting our faith as righteousness, but that at least a part of our faith was that God raised Christ from the dead, a "working of God."

 

[Mikey]

 

[Van]

The mind-set of naysayers may bring tears to Christ, but our challenge is to be His ambassadors, revealing truth without regard for the views of those who persecute. How do we do this? Through faith!!!!

2 Timothy 3:15
and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

 

[Van]

We became inheritors of the promise to Abraham and his descendants through our credited faith.

Galatians 3:29
And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's descendants, heirs according to the promise.​

If we belong to Christ, we have been transferred into Christ based on God crediting our faith as righteousness.

Thus the blessings of God are bestowed through or based on faith as credited by God.

 

[robt.k.fall]

For many years, I have asked myself, how did Demetrius the co understand a passage when he heard it or read it in 75 A.D..

 

[Mikey]

 

[37818]

The gift in Ephesians 2:8, . . . saved . . . that . . . the gift . . . .

 

[Van]

For many years, I have asked myself, how did Demetrius the co understand a passage when he heard it or read it in 75 A.D..

Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. The one who does what is good is of God; the one who does what is evil has not seen God. Demetrius has received a good testimony from everyone, and from the truth itself; and we testify too, and you know that our testimony is true.​

As a born anew, and thus indwelt believer, Demetrius certainly had the oral testimony, with even the possibility to ask questions and receive clarification.

 

[Van]

Some deny we are saved through our faith. They claim we can not come to faith based on our reaction to the revelation of God and invite of the Gospel. When we heard the gospel as a lost unregenerate person we were "unable" to understand the spiritual milk of the gospel. This too is false doctrine based on altering the text and changing the meaning of words.

1 Corinthians 2:14 But natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.​

The question is whether or not "the things" refers to all the things of the Spirit of God, or just some of the things of the Spirit of God. What is the contextual meaning as discerned from the passage?

We know that our indwelt Spirit helps believers to discern spiritual things, spiritual solid food. But how did we become believers if we could not understand spiritual milk? Why would Paul speak of the two types of spiritual information if both are beyond the understanding of men of flesh, lost people?

The from the context 1 Corinthians 2:14 to 1 Corinthians 3:3, we see that "the things" refers to "the solid food things of the Spirit of God.

 

[Martin Marprelate]

If individuals were chosen for salvation unconditionally, then salvation would not be "through faith."

Non sequitur.

 

[Van]

Once again we get someone who knows what is not true, but does not say what is true. Through faith means faith was utilized to accomplish the action. We were saved by grace through faith, thus faith was utilized to save us.

When someone enters a room through a door, they utilize the door in order to accomplish entry. This is not rocket science or a "Non sequitur" as it follows by logical necessity from the word meanings.

But the claim does demonstrate the OP premise. "Dia" is used to show instrumentality in accomplishing being saved. And this meaning is denied and an alternate meaning supplied to make the verse fit doctrine.

 

[Van]

The historical grammatical translation method uses the meanings of words as determined by the context of written material produced near the time of the biblical text being translated. Today, we have our trusty lexicons to cross-check these choices in order to study how the words in the text are used contextually. Here is a blurb:

Bible lexicons provide definitions and meaning of Biblical words found in the original New Testament Greek and Old Testament Hebrew languages of the Holy Bible. This study resource helps in understanding the origins and root meaning of the ancient language. Additional, lexicons give the context and cultural meaning intended by the authors. Using the online King James Version or New American Standard lexicon with Strong’s Concordance numbers provides a detailed understanding of the Hebrew and Greek language used in the Bible.​

I recommend the NASB over the KJV because it has become outdated, and modern scholarship has changed our understanding of grammar. I also think either the Critical Text or the Majority Text is superior to the TR.

 

[Van]

For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you

Here from the NASB rendering of 1 Peter 1:20 we find the English word "foreknown." Now in the English language the meaning is: to have previous knowledge of : know beforehand especially by paranormal means or by revelation

Thus synonyms include "foresee" and suggests the idea of knowing something in the future. But this is not the contextual meaning in every case where the underlying Greek word appears. In every case, the knowledge was acquired in the past, even as far back n one case, as before creation. And in every case this knowledge, is being used in the present. For example a plan formulated by God before creation but being carried out during the authors lifetime can be said to be according to the foreknowledge of God. Christ's death on the cross is a case in point.

But I cannot tell you how many posters claim foreknow means to know the future by omniscience. Thus a vague word has an alternate meaning read into the text. Does this mean God does not know the future. Nope, every plan dictating future events is foreknown, such as prophecy such as when God declares the end from the beginning.

But this misses the point that God makes His plans happen, He causes them, rather than foresees a fixed future and tells us about it.

 

[JonC]

The problem of the OP is IF it is true that the historical use of words reveal the contextual meaning THEN this is a phenomenon that applies only to Scripture.

What I mean is that word usage (the "historical meaning" of a word) often changes in a language.

Call somebody a nimrod, tell them you are going to smoke a fag, call somebody "nice" and they will miss the insult, refer to the poor as "naughty" and see if anybody understands you mean they are poor, refer to food as "meat" while being a vegetarian.

And this was English words that changed in a very short time period (compared to Scripture).

 

[Van]

The problem of the OP is IF it is true that the historical use of words reveal the contextual meaning THEN this is a phenomenon that applies only to Scripture.

What I mean is that word usage (the "historical meaning" of a word) often changes in a language.

Call somebody a nimrod, tell them you are going to smoke a fag, call somebody "nice" and they will miss the insult, refer to the poor as "naughty" and see if anybody understands you mean they are poor, refer to food as "meat" while being a vegetarian.

And this was English words that changed in a very short time period (compared to Scripture).

That is exactly why the meanings as used at the time of the writing, the historical meaning as intended by the inspired text, are the ones we need to translate into the modern meanings of our English words.

 

[JonC]

That is exactly why the meanings as used at the time of the writing, the historical meaning as intended by the inspired text, are the ones we need to translate into the modern meanings of our English words.

I agree.

You mention "foreknowledge". It always amazed me the hoops some go through to make it mean something completely unrelated (e.g., "know" was an euphemism for sexual relations therefore knowledge could apply to a type of relationship therefore foreknowledge means something other than foreknowledge).

 

[John of Japan]

The historical grammatical translation method uses the meanings of words as determined by the context of written material produced near the time of the biblical text being translated....

I believe you mean the historical grammatical method of interpretation. There is no translation method with the moniker "historical grammatical".

Carry on.

 

[Van]

I believe you mean the historical grammatical method of interpretation. There is no translation method with the moniker "historical grammatical".

Carry on.

When that interpretation method us used by translators, the translation uses the historical grammatical method.

Every translation is to some extent an interpretation, but a formal equivalence translation attempts to minimize the interpretation/explanation in the text. The goal of formal equivalence is to preserve the original wording and grammatical forms to the greatest extent possible, while still providing a translation that is intelligible and readable


​

 

[Van]

Why attempt to translate words using their intended meaning the historical meaning at the time the text was originally written, rather than what the words may have meant before (root fallacy) or after? Word meanings change of over time, as people use the word to mean something else. For example, that's hot, does not necessarily mean it has a high temperature. So the meaning as used at that historical time is one that conveys the intended message.

 

[Van]

Let's consider the English word "adoption" and whether when used to translate the Greek word "huiothesia" (G5206) presents the intended meaning.

Today, if we say someone was "adopted" we are referring to person who becomes part of another family. But is that how Paul used the word in his NT writings? Nope.

Romans 9:4
who are Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption as sons and daughters, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the Law, the temple service, and the promises;​

Here the error occurs when identifying the "israelites" as the blood descendants of Abraham. But that is not how Paul used the term. Just look down to Romans 9:6-8. Paul is using the term for those who obtained approval through faith. Thus the promise of their future bodily redemption belongs to them. Therefore, using the contextual meaning in the historical setting, the idea is they the believers through faith have the benefits of being children of the promises, including bodily redemption.

Romans 8:23
And not only that, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons and daughters, the redemption of our body.​

Here the meaning of "huiothesia" is actually provided by the text, the word refers to the bestowal upon believers the benefits of being children of the promises, in this cause our future bodily redemption.

Romans 8:15
For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a Spirit of adoption as sons and daughters by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!”​

The Spirit of Adoption is our indwelt Holy Spirit, given as a pledge to our future bodily resurrection. Thus, receiving our Paraclete demonstrates we are children of God. See Romans 8:14. Thus, as God's children we cry out Abba! Father!

Ephesians 1:5
He predestined us to adoption as sons and daughters through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,​

Here again the idea is God predestined us to receive the benefits of being children of God through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will. Once again, future benefits are in view.

Galatians 4:5
so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons and daughters.​

Lastly this verse clearly says those redeemed, will receive the benefits of being children of God. Since not everyone is redeemed, both the redemption and the benefits are put forth as possibilities.

In summary, "huiothesia" is used by Paul to refer to the bestowal of the benefits of being children of God including our future bodily redemption. It does not refer to becoming children through our new birth in Christ (born anew) but to the subsequent benefits predestined for His children.