{"id":187,"date":"2019-11-11T20:55:56","date_gmt":"2019-11-12T04:55:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.calbaptist.edu\/scm\/?p=187"},"modified":"2019-11-11T20:58:07","modified_gmt":"2019-11-12T04:58:07","slug":"let-it-be-known-to-everyone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.calbaptist.edu\/scm\/2019\/11\/11\/let-it-be-known-to-everyone\/","title":{"rendered":"Let It Be Known To Everyone"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In this blog post, Dr. Dan demonstrates how digging into the Greek language helps to unpack deep riches from the biblical text. He speaks of a single word from Philippians 4:5 in its various translations. Dr. Dan uses abbreviations for the various translations. You can find a list of the abbreviations at the end of the post.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Philippians 4:4 (\u201cRejoice in the\nLord always\u201d) and Philippians 4:6 \u201cBe anxious for nothing.\u201d) are common refrains\nin Christian circles. Less common is to hear the recitation of the verse\nsandwiched between \u2013 Philippians 4:5 which states, \u201cLet your gentle spirit<\/em> be known to all men\u201d (NASB). This\nterse statement of Paul\u2019s typically gets overshadowed by the familiar words\nthat precede and follow it. However, just like the surrounding verses,\nPhilippians 4:5 contains an important command for Christians to understand. One\nreason the verse gets overlooked is because we are uncertain about what it\nmeans for us on a practical level. We understand how to rejoice, and we can\nembrace the commandment not to be anxious, but what does it mean to let one\u2019s\ngentle spirit be known to all men?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Recently, I dug into this question as I\nreviewed this text in preparation for a sermon. I compared English translations\nof the noun which is translated \u201cgentle spirit\u201d in the NASB. What I found was\nsurprising. I looked at 11 translations and found the word translated 7\ndifferent ways! The older translations use words that suggest a sense of controlled\nbehavior in interactions with others\u2014words like \u201cmoderation\u201d (KJV) and\n\u201cforbearance\u201d (RSV).  These suggest the\nidea of holding back or restraining oneself in terms of emotions, demeanor,\nand\/or behavior. In the ESV, the word is \u201creasonableness\u201d that should be known\nto all men. This suggests something similar to self-restraint, but more in the\nsense of one\u2019s thinking and how that reasoning might be reflected in one\u2019s interactions\nwith others.    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The other translations of the noun\nare more explicitly related to how one interacts with others, specifically a\npositive, favorable interaction\u2014\u201cgraciousness\u201d (CSB), \u201cconsiderate\u201d (Phillips,\nNLT), and most frequently \u201cgentleness\u201d (NIV, NKJV, NRSV) or \u201cgentle spirit<\/em>\u201d (NASB).  The<\/em>\nMessage<\/em> pulls these favorable ideas\ntogether to speak of an attitude of care that should characterize a Christian\nin his\/her interactions with others: \u201cMake it as clear as you can to all you\nmeet that you\u2019re on their side, working with them and not against them.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I see nothing amiss in any of these\ntranslations.  None of them distort the\nmeaning of the text. They all contribute to a fuller conception of what Paul\nhas in mind and, of course, to the complexity of meaning that can be found\nwithin a word in any language. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, as we discuss in our biblical\ninterpretation classes, it is easy for a student of the Bible to see what seems\nlike a disparity of meaning for a single word and do nothing more than select\nthe one that feels the best at the moment. Additionally, a preacher may be\ninclined to select the translation that fits best with the point he is trying\nto make in his teaching or preaching. The prudent teacher or Bible student consults\nresources that can help him understand the Greek behind the English\ntranslations, but in this case one would find the same disparity in the original\nGreek word (epieikes<\/em>) that we find\namong the English translations.  As we\nreflect on this further, we would do well to consider what these various\ntranslations of the word have in common, that is, to explore the range of\nmeaning represented in the translations (this is what theologians call the \u201csemantic\nrange\u201d).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking at the various English\ntranslations gives us a hint of the semantic range that we also find in the\nGreek. A proper understanding of the term translated \u201cgentle spirit\u201d can range from\nself-control and deference on one side of the spectrum to an attitude of\nconcern and consideration on the other side. On one end of the spectrum, we see\nwhere epieikes<\/em> is considered as\nrequiring a holding-back or giving-up or a display of self-control to the one\nwho is exhibiting epieikes<\/em>. At the\nother end of the spectrum is the one who benefits from the epieikes<\/em>, when it is demonstrated by another \u2013 this is seen as\nconsideration and care. Thus the older English translations emphasized the\nrequired behavior for the one who is displaying the \u201cgentle spirit\u201d (moderation\n(KJV) and forbearance (RSV)), while many of the more recent translations focus\non how this spirit is experienced by others\u2014reasonableness (ESV), graciousness\n(CSB), considerate (Phillips, NLT), and gentle spirit (NASB). <\/em>The\nrange reflects how one both practices the required behavior (by restraining\ntheir behavior for the cause of Christ), and how another experiences it (by\nwitnessing the gentle spirit of the one who is a Christ follower). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0<\/em>As I sort these ideas that I find in the English translations, I am reminded about what Paul has already expressed explicitly in Philippians 2:3-4,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDo nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves.\u00a0 Everyone should look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interest of others.\u201d\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

It is the same humility that Paul\nwrites about in Philippians 2:3-4 that he exhorts should be exhibited to\neveryone in Philippians 4:5. The Greek word he uses in Phil. 4:5 is the same\nword he uses in 2 Corinthians 10:1, where speaks of the gentleness and meekness\n(epieikes) of Christ<\/em>.  This parallels the picture of Jesus used to\nmodel humility in Philippians 2:5-11. Christ\u2019s condescension to this Earth and\nHis death on the Cross are the ultimate self-giving and self-emptying and are\nexpressive of the ideas packed into epieikes<\/em>.  As Herbert Preisker has stated, \u201cAs the\nheavenly King, He is gentle as only one who has full power can be.\u201d[1]<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In other words, in Philippians 4:5 Paul\nuses the imperatival (commanding) construction of epieikes<\/em> simply to say in a different way what he has already said\nclearly in Philippians 2.  Gentleness,\nconsiderateness, and graciousness indeed flow out of humility; they are \u201cput-others-first\u201d\nconcepts that are reflected in \u201cput-others-first\u201d attitudes and behaviors.  These attitudes and behaviors should be characteristic\nof the one who follows Christ. Even the control-oriented ideas of \u201cmoderation\u201d\nand \u201cforbearance\u201d are not suggesting self-control for the sake of self-control,\nbut the giving-up of \u201cselfish ambition or conceit\u201d (2:3) and looking beyond\none\u2019s own interests to consider others and their interests (2:4). In other\nwords, Paul is continuing to point the readers to displaying Christ-like\nbehavior \u2013 by rejoicing always (Phil. 4:4), by being anxious for nothing (Phil.\n4:6), and by displaying the same type of humility and gentle spirit as our\nSavior, who emptied Himself for the sake of others, even to the point of death\non a cross (Phil. 4:5, 2:8). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Bible students may feel frustrated\nby the struggle to understand and explain such ideas, they need not be. Any of\nthe English translations I have mentioned can provide at least a starting place\nin this discovery. When you see, as I did, such variation in translation,\nexplore the breadth of meaning, search for what is shared among the various\ntranslations, and consider how to capture the thread that ties them together.\nThe variety is not because of bad translators among us but because biblical\nwords (Hebrew and Greek) are fuller and richer words than can be translated\nwith a single English word. We recognize that as English speakers we are blessed\nto have such a wealth of translations to inform our understanding of the Bible,\nand they all help us discover the deep riches of biblical truth. Additionally,\nas it applies to this passage in particular, we recognize that the beauty of\nthe word chosen by Paul helps us to further understand the need to have the\nsame attitude as Christ\u2014that as we rejoice in Him (Phil. 4:4) and we choose to\ntrust in Him rather than worry (Phil. 4:6), we should also display His attitude\nof service and humility to a world that needs Him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Bible Translations<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n