From: Mark Wilson (emory2oo2@hotmail.com)
Date: Fri Feb 16 2001 - 15:36:53 EST
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Roseann
You wrote:
>It is my understanding that the wording "it" - "gift of God" in Eph. 2:8-9
>refers back to the word saved (or salvation)....rather than the word faith.
I wonder if you have something else in mind. There is no word in the Greek
"it" in your passage.
Eph. 2:8 simply concludes: QEOU TO DWRON (literally "the gift from God").
Perhaps you are referring to some English translation which "adds" the word
"it." I think you may be referring to the word "that" in the phrase "and
that not of yourselves."
In Greek 101 you learn that grace and faith are feminine nouns, and the
pronoun "that" is NOT feminine. The only grammatical conclusion from this is
that "that" does NOT refer to grace or faith. However, I do not believe that
it grammatically refers to "saved" either, but I could very well be wrong.
I think the pronoun TOUTO (where your English translations takes is as
"that") refers not to a word, but to a concept. And since no grammatical
limits restrict TOUTO, I would assume it refers to the ENTIRE concept being
developed by the writer.
Therefore, TOUTO would encompass the ENTIRE concept of this salvation being
described, without reference to any particular isolated part (including
grace and faith).
Yielding something along these lines:
"For by grace you stand as saved ones though faith, and THIS WHOLE IDEA OF
BEING SAVED BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH [is]..."
I think this construct purposefully means that TOUTO (that) does NOT refer
to any ONE part of the whole; rather it conceives of the whole as one,
indivisible unit.
I have posted this for all to review in case I have misunderstood the
construct here. Look for a more scholarly answer.
Regards,
Mark Wilson
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