The Importance of New Testament Greek

An intimate knowledge of the Greek is not a sine qua non for the minister of the gospel. However, to assert that a sound insight into the language of his profes­sion is an asset of prime value to the gospel worker is to make a statement that is accepted by unbiased people. The moral of the following quotation is applicable to our situation today:

Every precursor of the Protestant Reformation, and every leading Protestant Reformer, was either the disciple of a Greek or of some scholar who had been taught by a Greek.

The well-known watchword of Romish intoler­ance, "Cave a Graecis ne fias haereticus," contained, and still contains, a most suggestive meaning.

"I am not a Lutheran," said Zwingle, "for I knew Greek before I ever heard mention of Luther's name." "To know Greek," adds Merle d'Aubigne, "was the basis of the Reformation." 1

Some speak against the study of New Testa­ment Greek, "since," they say, "we have such an abundance of helps." But the truth is that these very supports enhance the true worth of immediate recourse to the Greek of the New Testament. Within the past few decades the Greek New Testament has been revivified. Im­portant discoveries are now embodied in new grammars, lexicons, and expository dictionaries. These splendid accomplishments make a famil­iarity with the New Testament Greek more satisfying, more important, and more illuminat­ing—certainly not less necessary.

We are living in an age of investigation in all fields pertaining to the Word of God. The his­torical scenes of the Bible accounts are being searched for every mite of evidence relating to the historicity of the Book. Many scholars of rank are devoted to an intensive search for evidence. A tremendous amount of material has been uncovered and awaits translation and interpretation. Men of the Book, professional men engaged in interpreting the Word of life to souls in need of salvation, should not be so ignorant of the language of their text that they cannot appreciate and evaluate the worth of the evidences brought to light. Shepherds of the flock are responsible to disclose this valuable material to their congregations.

Europe awoke from the Dark Ages with the Greek New Testament in her hand, with the result that the world was spiritually resuscitated. That Book has the same dynamic power in this age. The words of Erasmus in the Preface to his edition of the Greek New Testament are true today:

These holy pages will summon up the living im­age of His mind. They will give you Christ Himself, talking, healing, dying, rising, the whole Christ in a word: They will give Him to you in an intimacy so close that He would be less visible to you if He stood before your eyes.

Practical Advantages

Here are a few of the practical advantages that a minister who reads his Greek New Testa­ment enjoys:

1.   Authority. The Greek New Testament is one of the two truly authoritative bases of our beliefs. In the final analysis, every point of truth we hold is to be founded on God's original doc­uments. The Old Testament is authenticated by the New; doctrines must be established by the original Word.

2.   Spiritual and psychological balance; i.e., a poise and self-possession in knowledge such as the Bible teacher can get from no other source. In addition to this personal composure, the worker wins the confidence of those who listen to him to a fuller and larger degree than is otherwise possible.

3. Deeper insight into the message of the New Testament. This means a ministry raised to a higher plane of efficiency, better equipped to unfold the message to the educated classes. This is an achievement of supreme importance, for educated people are language conscious.

In seeking to excuse his ignorance of the original words of God's Book, one may hear a minister irrelevantly say, "Spurgeon broke gram­mar, but he also broke hearts." But we should not overlook the fact that Spurgeon did not break hearts because he broke grammar, but in spite of that. Moreover, despite an insuffi­cient schooling in his younger years, he made himself efficient in both Hebrew and Greek. Another excuse made at times is that "sticking to the Greek spoils originality in sermons." Such a statement is just the opposite of truth. A scholarly appreciation of Hebrew and Greek did not preclude originality in the sermons of Spurgeon, G. Campbell Morgan, J. H. Jowett, and many other great preachers; neither did it make their sermons stiff or heavy. John Knox studied Greek when more than fifty years of age; his example should encourage men today. Lan­guage phobia is not a recommendation for any­one.

The standard of general education is steadily being made broader and higher. The average man is much more inclined to question the foundations of religious belief than was his counterpart of sixty years ago. It is becoming increasingly clear that the teacher and preacher of the Word must be a specialist. The lawyer, the doctor, the engineer, must know the lan­guage, the mulls, and the meanings of the vocabulary of his profession. The minister of the gospel, a professional man, should not be less zealous and conscientious in becoming con­versant with the expressions, words, and phrases given him by the Holy Spirit in the language of the New Testament.

Importance of the Greek Article

Nothing in the New Testament is so small that it is insignificant. Even the definite article, associated with gesture—an index finger—should not be handled loosely. Matthew 4:5 is an instance of leaving out the definite Greek article, so that the K.J.V. reads "a pinnacle," whereas the Greek says "the pinnacle"—the very point bearing the name "Winglet," the only one that overlooks the abyss into which the devil tempted Jesus to throw Himself.

John 4:27 is an instance of inserting the def­inite article in the English where the Greek does not have it. We read, "He talked with the woman." The Greek says, "He talked with a woman." To converse with a woman in a public place was not consonant with the grave dignity of a rabbi. An ancient rabbinical precept stated, "Let no one talk with a woman in the street, no, not with his own wife."² The apostles were astounded, not that He was talking with that particular woman, but that Christ conversed with any woman in public.

Word Pictures

Words are the truest picture of the soul. The very heart of a people's theological thinking is found in the expressions of their theology. Generally, a theology is best characterized by its conception of sin. How many of us know that there is a numerous group of generic words for sin in the Greek New Testament, excluding specific names for certain sinful acts? Sin is a terribly important matter that the preacher should be able to make plain. Inevitably the language of the New Testament must be its own authority in respect to sin, as with every other doctrine; and the diagnosis of the New Testament doctrine of sin can scarcely be made unless it is understood in its numerous aspects and regarded in its many-sidedness.

The various Greek words employed stress sin as missing the mark; as disobedience to a call, voice, or injunction; as nonacquiescence to a definite law; as failure to carry out to comple­tion some designated task. An active or a passive disobedience may be contemplated; a with­holding from God that which is truly His; or, definite impiety against God. The aspects of sin are numerous; the Greek New Testament is precise in its use of words to portray the particular lesson involved. The minister of the gospel should not limp behind the educated men of other professions in his understanding of the language of his textbook—he must be prepared to satisfy the deepest interest that the whole human race shares.

Again, there are eight different Greek words in the New Testament, each one of which is at times translated "judgment" in the English Bibles. The minister of the Word ought to be very sure that he is giving the correct idea. This word "judgment" in English may be the trans­lation of unlike Greek words that mean a judgment stated, the active carrying out of a judgment or sentence, a court of judgment, an opinion, advice, purpose, an estimate. Of these Greek words, each with its own peculiar mean­ing, one may be used only once, or ten times, or thirty or even more than four hundred times in the Greek New Testament. As a minister one has the responsibility of making proper discrimination.

There are six different Greek words trans­lated "servant" in English. Do we point out the differences in meaning, elucidating the correct spiritual lesson in each case? Do we know which word emphasizes the position and dignity of the master? which word stresses the worth and value of the service rendered to the master? Do we know which word designates the servant who ministers the things of the church, and which one specifies the one who ministers the Word itself? Are we acquainted with the fact that "servant" in one case in the New Testament means a medical attendant, and is the modern Greek word for doctor?

Language is the sign of intellectual life; speech is the sincerest portrait of a people's soul. The Koine Greek became the world speech when Alexander the Great united the Greek and Persian empires. This international language was God's missionary gift to the church. The spirit and heart of the message of Jesus Christ are enshrined in this Koine Greek of the New Testament. Ministers of the Word need to know the spirit and heart of that mes­sage.

REFERENCES

¹ GEORGE BENEnrcr WINER, A Grammar of the New Testa­ment Diction (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1860), pp. viii, ix.

² Aboth R. N. 2 (Id), cited in Hermann L. Strack and Paul Billerbeck, Kommentar zurn Neuen Testament (Munich: C. H. Beck'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1922), vol. 2, p. 438.