It would be the latter of these that I had in mind. The hOTI
clause seems to me to explain what is referred to by TI TO FRONHMA TOU
PNEUMATOS.
> > The first construction seems difficult logically and
> >theologically. If hOTI were to be taken as causal, could we say
that
> >the Father would not know what the Spirit was thinking if He didn't
so
> >intercede for the saints? A causal "because" would imply as much.
> >
> I see no such implication in taking the hOTI clause as causal. It
simply
> explains the confidence we can have in our relation to God through
the
> Spirit which is present with us. (so also ASV, RSV, NASV). The RSV
has
> "because" in the text but gives "that" in the footnote. The CEV
makes the
> hOTI seem temporal or at least similtaneous, "as the Spirit prays for
God's
> people." Again I see no theological problem here.
It appears that you are taking the hOTI clause as not relating
to the very immediate context but to the clause at the beginning of v.
26, "In the same way the Spirit also helps us in our weakness." This
might be so, but it seems to reach a long way. If the hOTI clause is
interpreted in relation to its immediate context and taken as causal,
the implication seems inescapable that it is saying that the Father
knows the mind of the Spirit *because* the latter intercedes for the
saints according to God's will.
-- David L. Moore Director Miami, Florida, USA Department of Education dvdmoore@ix.netcom.com Southeastern Spanish District http://www.netcom.com/~dvdmoore of the Assemblies of God