Romans 8:28 and "in" all things
Richard Ghilardi
qodeshlayhvh at juno.com
Mon Sep 16 03:52:26 EDT 2002
Dear B-Greekers,
On Sun, 15 Sep 2002 19:14:54 -0700 (PDT) waldo slusher
<waldoslusher at yahoo.com> writes:
> OIDAMEN DE hOTI TOIS AGAPWSI TON QEON PANTA SUNERGEI
> EIS AGAQON...
>
> I have run across the translation, "we know that he
> works in all things for..."
>
> Does this change the sense in any big way? The image
> in my mind is now that of God working in the midst of
> all things, rather than directly orchestrating the
> "all things."
>
This is essentially the rendering of the NIV with a slightly different
arrangement. Two of the best recent commentators, Cranfield and Moo,
reject this interpretation as having too many difficulties. cf.
Cranfield, vol. 1, pp. 425-29 and Moo pp. 527-8. Cranfield lays out all
the aternatives very nicely and finally settles on the interpretation
reflected in the AV: "...it can hardly be doubted that the sentence as a
Greek sentence is most naturally understood in this way." Moo says, "The
one syntactical difficulty is that the verb SUNERGW normally takes a
personal subject (Osburn, "Romans 8:28," p. 102); but on the whole, it is
the best alternative."
Does it make any big difference in the sense whether we construe PANTA as
the subject of SUNERGEI (all things work together) or PANTA as an
accusative of respect with hO QEOS (either explicitly with P46, B et
pauci or implicitly) as the subject of SUNERGEI (in all things God
works)? I don't think so. God can hardly be working in the midst of all
things without exercising his sovereign control. Here's what Moo says:
<< This leaves, then, what may be the most straightforward reading of the
clause: "all things work together for good" (KJV, NIV margin). If,
however, we adopt this translation, it is important to insist that "all
things" do not tend toward good in and of themselves, as if Paul held to
a "naively optimistic" interpretation of history (Dodd's objection to
this rendering). Rather, it is the sovereign guidance of God that is
presumed as the undergirding and directing force behind all the events of
life. This being so, it does not finally matter all that much whether we
translate "all things work together for good" or "God is working in and
through all things for good." >>
Yours in His grace,
Richard Ghilardi -- qodeshlayhvh at juno.com
New Haven, CT USA
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