Why Do I Love Adversative Conjunctions?
January 12, 2023 | by: Dale Thiele | 0 Comments
Posted in: Pastoral Encouragement
I admit that I say some goofy things in my sermons. Sometimes it is because I struggle to pronounce words correctly (I inherited this struggle from my dad; it’s in the tongue). Sometimes it is because I get excited about the truths of Scripture and my mouth runs faster than my brain. Sometimes it is because I want to help people remember what I am saying. It is for this last reason that I have said things like, “I love adversative conjunctions!”
Adversative conjunctions are those connecting words that unite two opposing statements. Some common examples are but, though, and however. In Scripture they often unite two opposing statements that present seemingly impossible scenarios. Take for example Ephesians 2. Paul says, “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked… but God made us alive together with Christ…” (v. 1, 4-5). We were dead, but God made us alive. The Bible is full of these contrasts, especially in Paul’s writings.
My love for grammar in the study of Scripture is not merely an interest in grammar. My love for grammar is rooted in the belief that God has revealed truth about himself and his ways through the inspiration of not only the words but also the grammar of the Bible. This attention on the inspiration of grammar began in seminary while I studied biblical exegesis with John Piper. This paragraph caught, and has held, my attention:
An evangelical believes that God humbled himself not only in the incarnation of the Son, but also in the inspiration of the Scriptures. The manger and the cross were not sensational. Neither are grammar and syntax. But that is how God chose to reveal himself. A poor Jewish peasant and a prepositional phrase have this in common, they are both human and both ordinary. That the poor peasant was God and the prepositional phrase is the Word of God does not change this fact. Therefore, if God humbled himself to take on human flesh and to speak human language, woe to us if we arrogantly presume to ignore the humanity of Christ and the grammar of Scripture. (Biblical Exegesis: Discovering the Meaning of Scriptural Texts)
Therefore, when we study Scripture, we should give attention not only to the meaning of words, but also the grammar and logic of sentence and paragraph constructions. God uses these human and ordinary means to teach us about himself! Looking back at Ephesians 2, the adversative conjunction draws attention to the power and mercy of God. God has compassion on sinful, rebellious people like you and me in order to rescue us from the just penalty due our sin. And it is only by the miraculous power of God that we can be raised from the spiritual death in which our sins ensnared us. These truths move us to humble gratitude; and they are highlighted by an adversative conjunction.
I want you to love adversative conjunctions as well, not because there is any special power in being a grammar nut; but because God has chosen to reveal himself to you through something as human and ordinary as grammar. I want you to know God. And for that, we need to give some attention to grammar.
