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Monday, May 02, 2011

God is Great. What about Jesus?

Titus 2:13 προσδεχόμενοι τὴν μακαρίαν ἐλπίδα καὶ ἐπιφάνειαν τῆς δόξης τοῦ μεγάλου θεοῦ καὶ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ,

Henry Alford and J. E. Huther[1]  both consider God the Father to be the referent of μεγάλου θεοῦ in Titus 2:13. Alford asks the expositor to consider all the places in the NT and particularly the Pastorals where  [ὁ] θεὸς is joined with  [ὁ] σωτήρ and based on patterns of reference (i.e., the referent of σωτήρ) to consider the probability that both θεοῦ καὶ σωτῆρος would be applied to Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ in a single clause. Alford doesn't consider it very probable. 

Luke 1:47 καὶ ἠγαλλίασεν τὸ πνεῦμά μου ἐπὶ τῷ θεῷ τῷ σωτῆρί μου,

1Tim. 1:1 Παῦλος ἀπόστολος Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ κατ᾿ ἐπιταγὴν θεοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν καὶ Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ τῆς ἐλπίδος ἡμῶν

1Tim. 2:3 τοῦτο καλὸν καὶ ἀπόδεκτον ἐνώπιον τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν θεοῦ,

1Tim. 4:10 εἰς τοῦτο γὰρ κοπιῶμεν καὶ ἀγωνιζόμεθα, ὅτι ἠλπίκαμεν ἐπὶ θεῷ ζῶντι, ὅς ἐστιν σωτὴρ πάντων ἀνθρώπων μάλιστα πιστῶν.

Titus 1:3 ἐφανέρωσεν δὲ καιροῖς ἰδίοις τὸν λόγον αὐτοῦ ἐν κηρύγματι, ὃ ἐπιστεύθην ἐγὼ κατ᾿ ἐπιταγὴν τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν θεοῦ,

Titus 2:10 μὴ νοσφιζομένους, ἀλλὰ πᾶσαν πίστιν ἐνδεικνυμένους ἀγαθήν, ἵνα τὴν διδασκαλίαν τὴν τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν θεοῦ κοσμῶσιν ἐν πᾶσιν.

Titus 2:13 προσδεχόμενοι τὴν μακαρίαν ἐλπίδα καὶ ἐπιφάνειαν τῆς δόξης τοῦ μεγάλου θεοῦ καὶ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ,

Titus 3:4 ὅτε δὲ ἡ χρηστότης καὶ ἡ φιλανθρωπία ἐπεφάνη τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν θεοῦ,

2Pet. 1:1 Συμεὼν Πέτρος δοῦλος καὶ ἀπόστολος Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ τοῖς ἰσότιμον ἡμῖν λαχοῦσιν πίστιν ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ τοῦ θεοῦ ἡμῶν καὶ σωτῆρος Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ,

Jude 25 μόνῳ θεῷ σωτῆρι ἡμῶν διὰ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν δόξα μεγαλωσύνη κράτος καὶ ἐξουσία πρὸ παντὸς τοῦ αἰῶνος καὶ νῦν καὶ εἰς πάντας τοὺς αἰῶνας, ἀμήν.

The data from the Pastorals is particularly daunting for those of us who consider Jesus Christ the referent of  μεγάλου θεοῦ in Titus 2:13. The referent of τοῦ θεοῦ in 2Pet. 1:1 is just controversial as Titus 2:13 but Jude 25 is no contest, since διὰ grammatically subordinates Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ. In other words, the only support we find in the NT for joining both θεοῦ and σωτῆρος to Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ is  2Pet. 1:1 which is not going to convince the likes of Alford or Huther.

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