[B-Greek] Rom. 12:1 LATREO

Maurice Fuller fullermt at shaw.ca
Thu Nov 6 14:42:39 EST 2003


Ken brings up an important point and one with which all exegetes sooner or
later must come to grips. Having gone to all the trouble to learn Greek, are
we now merely confused on a higher academic level? I have found that
accurately reading a passage forms a very large part of understanding it.
But we must go on from there to determine which meaning (of several possible
meanings a passage may have lexically and syntactically) does it actually
have. I have found, in my examination of reference material, a palpable
sense of the Holy Spirit’s guidance as to which meaning is appropriate in
the passage in which I am interested. Of course, additional factors also
play a part, such as context, parallel passages, similar subject parallels,
etc. And I never suppose that I alone have the last word on any passage’s
meaning, since truth is a communal process. If indeed the Holy Spirit has
guided me, others who are also indwelt by the same Spirit, ought to bear
witness to it. This means, to me, that the entire process of biblical
exegesis must be undertaken not only as an intellectual exercise, but also
as an intensely spiritual discipline. And it is not a lonely pursuit,
undertaken in a dusty attic room but in full fellowship with the body of
Christ. This all boils down to the fact that the scriptures can be
understood and we can understand them and all the academic skills we acquire
and all the spiritual exercises we engage in are for that express end – to
understand God’s word and obey it.

Maurice L. Fuller



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