Article May 18, 1940 Issue

Bible Notes

[The Biblical citations given in the Christian Science Quarterly are from the Authorized King James Version. The Bible Notes in this column can be used, if deemed necessary, to elucidate some of the words or passages contained in the Bible Lessons.]

"If our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens" (II Cor. 5:1)—The words which are rendered here "of God" have the literal meaning of "from God," while in certain editions of the Greek text a comma is found after the word which is rendered "eternal," thus suggesting that "eternal in the heavens" need not necessarily be taken as a single phrase. This helps to explain the order of the words as found in some of the more modern renderings. Thus Goodspeed has: "For I know that if this earthly tent that I live in is taken down, God will provide me a building in heaven to live in, not built by human hands but eternal;" while Weymouth (Fifth Edition) suggests: "For we know that if the mere tent, which is our earthly house, is taken down, we have in heaven a building from God, a house not made by human hands, but eternal."

"For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven" (II Cor. 5:2)—Goodspeed's rendering of this somewhat involved passage is: "This makes me sigh with longing to put on my heavenly dwelling;" while Moffatt has: "It makes me sigh, indeed, this yearning to be under the cover of my heavenly habitation."

"The earnest of the Spirit" (II Cor. 5:5)—The Greek word which is here translated "earnest" was one often used in the first century of our era to mean what we would describe as a "down payment" made as security that the balance would eventually be paid. Paul's point would seem to be that in part he and his readers had already received the holy Spirit, and that this is in effect a guarantee that they will grow into a fuller realization of it. Hence Weymouth has: "God, who has given us His Spirit as guarantee;" and Goodspeed suggests: "He has given me the Spirit as his guaranty."

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