Stephen Hughes wrote:I think that the ἀλλὰ νῦν οὐκέτι γινώσκομεν could be expanded out a little with an ἀπό used again, as in ἀπὸ νῦν οὐκέτι μέλλοντες γινώσκειν κατὰ σάρκα Χριστὸν, or it could be paraphrased as ἀλλὰ μέχρι νῦν ἐγνώκαμεν [κατὰ σάρκα Χριστὸν = ἐν τῇ κενώσει αὐτοῦ] σταυρωθέντα και παθόντα, καὶ μέλλοντες γινώσκειν αὐτὸν κατὰ δόξαν καὶ δύναμιν ὡς Παντοκράτορα, Βασιλέα καὶ Κριτήν.
I have no problem with the νῦν and ἀπὸ τοῦ νῦν part. My real confusion is about the structure (syntax) of the conditional.
Stephen Hughes wrote:If you don't want to do those sort of paraphrases, you may like to consider the phrase κατὰ σάρκα Χριστὸν as to the question where you would put the article if you wanted to put the article.
- adjectival prepositional phrase τὸν κατὰ σάρκα Χριστόν
- adverbially κατὰ σάρκα τὸν Χριστόν
I would certainly take κατὰ σάρκα adverbially, telling
in what way we know people. I think the idea is that we should no longer know people in a carnal way but only in a spiritual way. It's not saying "the physical Christ" but rather "we no longer know Christ
in a physical way." That seems pretty clear.
Stephen Hughes wrote:In view of that possible variation we are led to consider whether κατὰ σάρκα Χριστὸν could be
- [know] according to our senses a Xrist. (as we carnally percieve him )
- a Christ according to his flesh (so far as he can be known during the incarnation)
I wouldn't take κατὰ σάρκα Χριστόν as a phrase any more than I would take οὐδεὶς κατὰ σάρκα (from οὐδένα οἴδαμεν κατὰ σάρκα) as a phrase in itself. The prepositional phrase κατὰ σάρκα is adverbial, and Χριστόν is the object of the verb γινώσκω.
Stephen Hughes wrote:And in view of that, in any case, we should also consider whether κατὰ σάρκα means
- according to our flesh or
- according to his.
I'm not suggestion that any or all of them are true, but I am suggesting that you should consider them at least.
This last point is certainly worth some thought. Then again, could it be neither
his nor
ours but simply in a carnal way (without regard to whose flesh is in question)?
Thanks for your comments.
I'm looking for a discussion of the structure of this conditional (εἰ καί + perf. ind., ἀλλὰ + pres. ind.).