[B-Greek] 1 Cor 2:7

Carlton Winbery winberycl.earthlink.net at lists.ibiblio.org
Wed Mar 9 17:50:57 EST 2005


>Dear Carlton,
>
>Thanks for your reply.
>
>You said:
>>  EN with the dative can be locative of instrumental. Here I would say
>>  that it is instrumental, "by means of a mystery." Paul finds this
>>  device useful to explain the unexpected turns in the experiences of
>>  the church
>
>So does, "by means of a mystery" mean that Paul is speaking this way now
>or that
>the wisdom of God had been hidden by means of a mystery, or in a
>mystery?

Of course what Paul conceives has been revealed is revealed by God 
but he understands and explains by referring to what is best 
understood as a mystery.

>You also said:
>>  The preceding verse as well as the following verse present the
>>  contrast between the wisdom of this world and the wisdom of God.
>
>I see that from 1:17 through chapter 3 this theme of God's wisdom and
>being
>wise appears numerous times in contrast to the wisdom of the world, or
>human
>wisdom.
>
>You concluded:
>>  Note the modifiers of "wisdom." 1) which has been hidden, 2)which was
>>  foreordained, 3) which no one of the rulers of this age knows. This
>>  is Paul's use of the concept of the mystery of God, that which cannot
>>  be understood apart from knowledge of God in faith. In other places
>>  it refers to God's plan to redeem the Gentiles, Paul's life work.
>
>Here is where it gets a little fuzzy for me. I understand the modifiers
>of wisdom, but your next sentence puzzles me. It seems that you switch
>from
>talking about wisdom to the mystery. If mystery is taken as an
>instrumental
>dative, wouldn't that give us the means by which this wisdom was
>originally
>given, i.e., this wisdom was kept secret until it was revealed. And in
>this
>context that which was kept secret was God's wisdom demonstrated in the
>cross.

I thought that's what I said. I did not keep a copy. The concept of 
mystery enables Paul to explain the developments that he certainly 
thinks that God has revealed.

>Then in other contexts we see other mysteries that God kept hidden until
>the
>right time to reveal them.
>
>In Him,
>
>Mont Cessna, Sr.
>Harrisburg, PA
>montc at earthlink.net
>
>
>
>>  ---
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>>


-- 
Carlton L. Winbery
Fogleman Professor of Religion
Louisiana College
318-448-6103
winberycl at earthlink.net
winbery at lacollege.edu



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