Ephesians 5:5

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David
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Joined: November 21st, 2021, 6:36 pm

Ephesians 5:5

Post by David »

Most agree Sharp's rule should not apply in Ephesians 5:5: τῇ βασιλείᾳ τοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ Θεοῦ, "the kingdom of Christ and God." Therefore, grammatically one should not see the verse saying Christ and God are the same entity.

I am curious whether alternate ways to describe the kingdom shed any light on Paul's meaning:

a. τῇ βασιλείᾳ τοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ τοῦ Θεοῦ - "the kingdom of Christ and God"
b. τῇ βασιλείᾳ τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ Χριστοῦ - "the kingdom of God and Christ"
c. τῇ βασιλείᾳ τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ τοῦ Χριστοῦ - "the kingdom of God and Christ"
Stephen Carlson
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Re: Ephesians 5:5

Post by Stephen Carlson »

Sharp's rule may be too strict. Classical grammars, like Smyth's, state that this construction "produces the effect of a single notion," not necessarily referential identity.
Stephen C. Carlson, Ph.D.
Melbourne, Australia
David
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Joined: November 21st, 2021, 6:36 pm

Re: Ephesians 5:5

Post by David »

What about the other ways to make the "same" statement?
Stephen Carlson
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Re: Ephesians 5:5

Post by Stephen Carlson »

The word order difference within the coordination is hardly significant; presumably the first one would be more prominent.

Whether the second element in the coordination has the article or not relates the “single notion” I mentioned earlier.
Stephen C. Carlson, Ph.D.
Melbourne, Australia
Gregory Hartzler-Miller
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Re: Ephesians 5:5

Post by Gregory Hartzler-Miller »

Gal 2:20 with τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ Χριστοῦ
ζῶ δὲ οὐκέτι ἐγώ, ζῇ δὲ ἐν ἐμοὶ Χριστός · ὃ δὲ νῦν ζῶ ἐν σαρκί, ἐν πίστει ζῶ τῇ τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ Χριστοῦ τοῦ ἀγαπήσαντός με καὶ παραδόντος ἑαυτὸν ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ.

Gal 5:20
...φθόνοι, μέθαι, κῶμοι, καὶ τὰ ὅμοια τούτοις, ἃ προλέγω ὑμῖν καθὼς προεῖπον ὅτι οἱ τὰ τοιαῦτα πράσσοντες βασιλείαν Θεοῦ οὐ κληρονομήσουσιν.

Eph 5:5
τοῦτο γὰρ ἴστε γινώσκοντες, ὅτι πᾶς πόρνος ἢ ἀκάθαρτος ἢ πλεονέκτης, ὅ ἐστιν εἰδωλολάτρης, οὐκ ἔχει κληρονομίαν ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ τοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ Θεοῦ.

Re: The authorial sense of βασιλείᾳ τοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ Θεοῦ

Assuming the author of Eph 5:5 knew the Gal 2:20 text above, with Christ (i.e. the anointed one) being called "God" in the subordinate sense of Ps 45:7/Heb 1:9 (...God, Your God, has anointed You above Your companions with the oil of joy.”), I'm now hearing "τοῦ Χριστοῦ" in βασιλείᾳ τοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ Θεοῦ as synonymous with what must be another use of the word "Θεοῦ" in the subordinate sense in Gal 5:20 -- βασιλείαν Θεοῦ (which is an disconcerting stretch for me).
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