From: Steven R. Lo Vullo (doulos@chorus.net)
Date: Wed Jan 10 2001 - 23:39:23 EST
On 1/10/01 9:15 PM, Mark Wilson wrote:
>
> Phil. 4:9c
>
> KAI hO QEOS THS EIRHNHS ESTAI MEQ hUMWN
>
> I am really not seeking any mystical understanding of this expression,
> but the cliche "God is with you" seems a bit hollow to me.
The form of EI)MI/ here is not present, but future. And even though the
clause is not grammatically a result clause or the apodosis of a conditional
sentence, it seems that its fulfillment is predicated on the fulfillment of
the imperative of the previous clause. So Paul is not just giving the
Philippians a sort of cliched "pep talk" ("God is with you"). Rather,
semantically he is saying "If you practice these things, the God of peace
will be with you," or, "Practice these things, and the result will be that
God of peace will be with you."
> Is there any significance to the use of META in this expression? I am not
> sure if another preposition would have been more intimate or personal, but
> this phrase seems so vague as to almost be meaningless.
META, as it often does with the genitive, here denotes
association/accompaniment. Without (hopefully) getting too theological for
the list, I have to gently disagree with you that such a thought is "so
vague as to be almost meaningless." On the contrary, such a thought sums up
the ultimate vision of both the OT and the NT: God dwelling with his people.
(See META in Rev 21.3 and the many parallels in both the OT and NT. Rev 21.3
certainly paints an "intimate" and "personal" picture.). Although the
ultimate fulfillment of this vision awaits a future time, this relationship
can to a very meaningful degree be enjoyed now (cf. the similar thought
expressed in different terms in 2 Co 6.16).
Steve Lo Vullo,
Madison, WI
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